


The Knights of Grimm - Act 2 - Captured

by Cosmic_Fictions



Series: The Knights of Grimm [2]
Category: RWBY, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angst, Epic, F/F, F/M, Gen, Horror, Knights of Grimm - Freeform, Original Character(s), Post-Volume 4 (RWBY), Romance, Supernatural - Freeform, Suspense, Torture, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-08-03 13:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 54
Words: 341,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16327223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Fictions/pseuds/Cosmic_Fictions
Summary: Mistral has fallen, the Knights of Grimm are killing all life on Remnant and Death is hatching some sort of scheme that could prove lethal to both sides of the coin. With Ruby captured and left to Tyrian's mercy, the survivors must find out how to find her, meeting new allies along the way, whilst being hunted by the Grimm, Acolytes of Lien and the Onyx Phantom...





	1. Prologue

Months prior...

A young woman is pushed onto the round, her Chameleon-Style hair dragging against the floor. Her White Fang mask shattered as her head hits the floor with force, fracturing into little pieces, shards sliding across the floor. Blood leaks from her mouth and bruises across her face. She looks around, on the island of Menagerie before Fury destroyed it. She groans in pain, feeling the blood trickling down from her forehead from who attacked her. Her large eyes look up as the dark figure grabs her by the throat, pinning her against the floor. The silhouette has a black hood, one that creates a shadow that conceals her face, only her glowing orange eyes can be seen under the hood. The mouth mask glows red in different sections as she breathes through it, anger in her eyes. Ilia gasps for air as she struggles, grabbing the wrist of the assassin, but then someone stops her. "Don't kill her...not yet." A chilling voice says.

The Onyx Phantom releases her with force, and she steps aside. Walking past her is the Knight of Fear, holding his Scythe in one hand, his glowing gold eyes fixed on Ilia's. Ilia coughs in pain as Fear approaches her, carrion flies swarming around his body. She crawls back in fear, seeing a horde of spiders scuttling towards her feet, spiders the size of dogs. She screams in fear but they all vanish into clouds of flies as they touch her skin. Fear crouches down, the Onyx Phantom stood beside him with her rifle pointed at her face. "Ilia Amitola..." Fear greets with a mad smirk across his rotten face.

"Wh-What do you want?" She stammers. Fear stares straight into her eyes.

"I know you have been friends with this man for a long time." Fear says, reaching into her robes of rotten skin, pulling out a photograph, setting it down before her feet. She gasps when she sees the face of Kassius Locke upon it, still pretty hazed vision from her black eye.

"What do you want from me?" She questions. Fear smirks menacingly at her.

"A location." Fear demands coldly. "Tell them to go to the woods outside of Mistral...my friend here will be waiting." Fear says, standing tall again. Ilia shakes in terror, her hairs constantly stood on end as Fear starts to walk away from her. "I want you to lure your friend Kassius from his team so she can eliminate them all, and then his rage from failing his family will make him a valuable weapon to our cause." Fear says with a pure evil smile on his face.

"What are you going to do? Why do you want him?" Ilia questions. Fear stops and he opens his rotten hand, flies pouring from his undead form. He looks over his shoulder at her and there is that constant smirk on his face.

"I have seen what he can become..." Fear says to her. He points to the side of his own skull, tapping it with his hand. "There is a weapon inside of his mind...he holds his team close...I think we can manipulate that." Fear says with a smile. Fear rotates back round, waving his hand to the air before him, creating a black doorway that he enters. The Onyx Phantom remains there for a couple of seconds after the portal closes. But then she disappears, engaging some sort of stealth cloak around her armoured body, vanishing from Ilia's point of view.

In the forest...

Kassius walks into the woods, holding Lash Equinox in his hands. He stands with his team: Team K.R.D.V. Kassius, Rajah, Draven and Vetra. His eyes examine the area, still fresh skinned with no scars. With no cybernetic arm. Vetra stands beside him; she has long coffee brown hair and large hazel coloured eyes. She does not seem to use a weapon, but she can use her semblance as her weapon instead. Rajah holds two razor sharp blades with blue dust flowing through the weapons and Draven has a large machete with a collection of Ninja Stars clipped to his belt. Draven is a tall muscular man with a couple scars on his body from Beowulves that have put some fairly decent it’s on his body. Rajah is clearly from Vacuo as he only wears an open shirt like Sun does, tattoos on his chest. "This is the place..." Kassius says to them all.

"You sure Ilia was right?" Rajah asks him.

"She wouldn't lie to us." Vetra says to him.

"Not saying she's lie...just that she could have gotten the information wrong. I've heard the Nuckelavee is out here but I don't think it is this near to Mistral. Last I heard it was around Kuroyuri." Rajah explains to them both. Vetra sighs, throwing some of her hair to the back of her head so it is no longer obscuring her vision. Draven sighs, sheathing his machete.

"Well...we'll search for clues?" He asks. Kassius nods to Draven and they all begin to spread out to find any signs of the Nuckelavee, hoof prints, claw marks. Anything that could be a lead. But during the time that they search, Kassius feels his Scroll vibrating in his back pocket and he pulls it out, opening the scroll to see the message from Ilia. He has no idea that she has been forced to do this by Fear, she did not choose to do it. The message says one thing:

_Come find me at the Red Tree, I need to talk to you. Alone._

Kassius looks at the message, feeling nervous, and conflicted. He trusted Ilia then, and he looks at his team as they search for things. He sighs, closing his eyes and then he opens them. "Hey guys! I'm gonna search over here. I'll be back in a minute." Kassius calls over.

"I'll come with you." Vetra volunteers, walking over to him.

"No, no. Stay with them, I doubt I'll find anything. If I do I'll call you." Kassius says to them, walking over to the tree of which where Ilia said to meet him. The tree has beautiful red leaves coating the branches like a cloud. He approaches, hearing the coo of an owl.

But no Ilia.

He looks around with a confused expression. This is where she asked to meet him. He then checks his scroll again to make sure he read it correctly. That's when a second message appears from Ilia and it only says one thing to him.

_I'm sorry._

His eyes widen and he hears a distant scream, the scream of Rajah. He runs as fast as he can through the bushes to get to where he left them, and he sees Rajah groaning in pain as a razor sharp sword has been plunged straight through his stomach, lifting him off the floor. The blade pushes through organs and his spine, scraping across the bone. Blood pours from the wound and the Onyx Phantom throws him off. "Rajah!" Kassius screams in rage, sprinting straight at the Onyx Phantom. Her orange eyes fix onto his eyes and she says nothing as she always does. She grabs a grenade on her belt, pulling the pin and throwing it straight at him. Kassius' eyes widen and he drops down to floor, sliding underneath it, but it was too late. The explosion detonates right in his face, the shrapnel slicing across the side of his face which gives him his scars. The old armour plating he wore is completely obliterated from the explosion, and his arm is eviscerated from the blast. The shrapnel from the grenade and the armour shattering completely ripped his arm apart. Red blood jettisons into the sky like an aura of light in the sky of one of the poles. He is thrown through the air and he crashes onto the ground with force, tumbling and rolling, blood leaking from many injuries the explosion set upon him. Barely conscious, he watches as Vetra tries to get to him. Draven sprints at the Onyx Phantom with his Machete. He slashes the blade at the Phantom, but she is lightning fast, blocking his blade with her sword. The blade impact and then she reaches to her other sword sheathed on her pelvis, drawing it and smashing it into his machete. The impact snaps the blade, creating a long metallic twang. Draven's eyes widen in horror from what he witnesses, and the Onyx Phantom pushes both swords into his rib-cage. Blood splutters from his lips from his pain, killing him instantly. Her attacks were so fast that she managed to cripple their auras before he could even get there.

She was waiting for Kassius to investigate the smokescreen that Ilia laid.

The Onyx Phantom pushes her metal boot against his chest, pushing him from the two blades, his blood coating them. She sheathes one sword and then grabs a Silver Revolver that is holstered and she points it at Vetra as she runs to Kassius to help him. She aims straight at her back, pulling the trigger. There is a loud bang, the bullet travels across the forest floor, puncturing through her back and blood bursts from her belly, causing her to fall onto the floor. She rolls nearer to him, bleeding out beside him. The Onyx Phantom slowly approaches, scraping her blade through the soil behind her, her orange eyes focused on Vetra as she crawls towards her love. Kassius can barely see from the damage he suffered but he tries to reach out to Vetra, but the Onyx Phantom kicks her onto her back, pressing her boot down on her wound, then she takes the blade and pushes it straight into Vetra's heart. Vetra cries out in agony as the Onyx Phantom pushes the sword downwards, further and further until the hit has pressed against her skin. She gasps, still looking at Kassius from the amount of pain that she is suffering from. Blood leaking from her mouth and soaking into the floor. Kassius cannot even scream, but the anger and grief that channels through him is indescribable.

The Onyx Phantom rips the sword from Vetra's stomach, her orange eyes look at Kassius on the floor. She then turns and walks away, still has not said a word. But when she leaves, a black swirling portal of darkness opens as she disappears into the woods. The Knight of Death emerges with Ferrum Arctus gripped in his armoured hand. His glowing red eyes fixed on the dying boy. The grass and trees die as he passes them, the corpses of his team decay quickly, their skin shrivelling, flesh rotting away and leaving only their husks behind as he passes them. A horrible sight for anyone to see as they die. Death crouches down beside Kassius and the helmet shifts, plates of metal sliding back and hovering in the smoke that surrounds his head. The burning skull stares straight at him, the jaw opening with fire leaking from it, his hand approaching his face to claim him. "Your aura belongs to me..." Death growls deeply.

But then, something stops him.

"Not yet." Fear speaks. Death looks up at Fear to see the second Knight stood tall, his Scythe in hand, golden eyes glowing ferociously.

It wasn't Mistraalian Knights that stopped Death from claiming him...they came after...it was Fear. "Why?" Death questions. Fear approaches him slowly.

"His semblance...we can use it as a weapon. He cannot control it...but  _we_ can." Fear says, clenching his hand into a fist. The plates of metal close over the burning skull inside as he looks at Fear.

"Why him? There are many with powerful Semblances that we can control. Cinder may have killed one of them but we can find others...what is so special about this one?" Death inquires. Fear smiles menacingly as he looks down at Kassius.

"This boy was once the lover of Draco Parum Serenum, the sister of Argentum Natus...the silvered eyed one." Fear states as he stands there. He knows that Kassius and Yang loved each other...he knew about his attachment to their family. "We can use him as a weapon." Fear explains.

"Divide and Conquer." Death recites from memory. Fear looks over his shoulder when a group of Mistraalian Knights arrive after hearing the explosion. They both stop when seeing the two Knights stood above the dying boy on the floor. Death looks at them, standing tall and then he looks back at Kassius. "It is decided." Death says. The two Knights turn and they both disappear. Fear transforms into a cloud of flies and Death becomes a cloud of smoke, vanishing from their vision. The soldiers gasp in horror from what they just saw before them.

Kassius lies there, still dying.

But his semblance...it is something very dangerous.

To everyone.


	2. Identities

**Ruby**

The charred forest surrounds her once again, the shrieks of Nevermores echoing endlessly in the haunting woodland of black bark and smoke filled leaves. The sky burns deep red with the Fractured Moon floating in the sky, becoming more and more unstable each day, chunks of its body being carried away in its gravitational orbit around Remnant. Ruby lies on the floor, looking around. In this realm, both her silver eyes are intact and she has no bruises or cuts across her body from the conflict that she suffered through. She pushes her hand against her knee to stand up when she looks around the area. "Ruby..." Pyrrha's voice whispers, making Ruby look around erratically. She continues to hear her voice, but now she is calling out to Ruby, not Jaune. Her hands are shaking in fear as she searches for Pyrrha in this dark realm and then she actually sees her stood there. Her defectless body and personality stood there, her red sash around her waist blows in the cold wind of the Charred Forest and her red ponytail dances with it. Ruby walks towards her in this realm, every step that she takes causes the ground to crumble and erupt around her.

"Pyrrha?" Ruby asks.

"Hello again, Ruby..." Pyrrha gently greets with a smile. This is not like the other times she has seen Pyrrha in this Realm, she is actually communicating to Ruby, not just calling out to her to have no response when Ruby finds her.

"What is this?" Ruby asks her, scared of where she is, wanting to know.

"I don't know...I have been here ever since...ever since what happened on the tower." Pyrrha admits to Ruby as she looks at her. "Ruby, you need to know something. This place is not just some nightmare, I have seen something here. The Knights of Grimm, this place is extremely important to them but I have no idea why." Pyrrha explains, looking around, seeming just as afraid as Ruby is.

"Wait a minute...if you are here and I am...does that mean that I'm dead or are you alive as well?" Ruby asks her with huge silver eyes. Pyrrha smiles affectionately.

"I cannot leave this place, Ruby..." She sniffles as she looks at her. "But you can. You need to send a message to Jaune." Pyrrha begs her.

"I promise, when I get out of this place I will." She assures.

"Listen carefully." Pyrrha begins as she touches her shoulder, looking into her eyes with her bright emerald irises. "Tell him that I will always love him...but I have seen things that no one has ever seen. I know the Knights better than anyone, even Salem...I've seen what makes them who they are. Find him and tell him to find a man named Kragen Nox; he is a man who can help you all stop the Knights once and for all. You all have to find a place called - “Before Pyrrha can finish speaking like this, she hears the distant roars of crows amassing nearby. She grabs Ruby, holding her close as she whispers into her ear indistinctly.

Whilst Pyrrha whispers to Ruby, the landscape begins to ripple like water in an aggressive storm, the trees shattering into flocks of Crows that blast away from the trees and into the sky. Thousands of Crows fly into the sky but then they all converge on one point as the landscape comes apart around them. Pyrrha and Ruby both turn after Pyrrha finishes, the message is not clear but it has been planted in her mind. They both look through the Crows and they form one body before them both.

The Knight of Death.

He wields Ferrum Arctus in his hand, dragging the blade across the ash coated soil, causing smoke to emerge from the scarring as he approaches them both. His glowing red eyes are focused on them both and he takes Ferrum Arctus with both hands, swinging it straight at the two heroes. And he shouts only one thing as the blades cut through their necks.

"The Canvas of Life shall be wiped clean!" Death bellows.

Ruby gasps when she wakes up, the message was given but the dream collapsed during the arrival of Death. Whatever that place is...it is true what Pyrrha said, it is more important than she can possibly imagine. It must be a realm that Death controls, as Pyrrha was there and somehow Ruby is connected to that place as well, even though she is still alive. Pyrrha was trying to send them a message about something she has learned, which clearly means that she is alive in  _some_ form or another. And she knows something, especially about this unknown location that Ruby is still trying to decipher. The message is fully in her mind but Pyrrha did something that has latched it on, even though she cannot understand most of it. All she remembers is that: The Charred Forest is important in understanding the Knights, she still loves Jaune even in death (literally) and they all need to find a man named Kragen Nox.

So much has been given to Ruby and she is surrounded by people that she cannot trust. But since Death was there when it happened, he must know and therefore the other Knights must know as well. What horrors must Pyrrha be suffering through under the eye of Death?

She is trapped there and for as long as Death has control over the Charred Forest she will never rest. Ruby sits up, but when she does, there is a sudden burst of agony that pulsates in a throbbing sensation across the right hand side of her face and she winces from the pain. Like someone has pressed a superheated iron to the side of her face aggressively. She touches her fingers carefully to the place where the pain came from, and only then does she remember that she lost her eye to Death. Someone has given her a bandage to cover the wound and has actually stitched the wound up. It will take Ruby time to get used to losing her eye like that, but she leans against the ice cold wall, hitting her head against it. She still has cuts and bruises on her body from the Fall of Mistral.

Ruby looks up at the cell walls, made up of many individual metal bars, too strong to break and too close together for her to leap out with. But when she looks up, her fear turns to anger when she sees who is stood against the wall with her arms crossed and one leg bent back to press against the wall. She has let her long ashen black hair loose down her shoulder, her one amber eye staring straight at Ruby as she stands there. She could have been there for a while. Ruby's silver eye widens and she grits her teeth in anger when she sees Cinder staring straight at her like that. After seeing Pyrrha again, and then seeing the same woman that murdered her only a few feet away and a wall between them...it fuels Ruby with defiant rage. "You..." Ruby snarls in anger as she glares at the woman. But Ruby has no idea of the things that Salem has done to her to turn her into this weapon that she wanted to become. The last time they met there wasn't really that much time for them to talk, since Cinder was ready to kill her there and then. But she didn't, which is why Death does not respect her because she does not have what it takes, according to him. But after being given this power, she has never felt so weak.

"Hello again." Cinder greets, and somehow just by bringing Ruby to her, a part of the old Cinder Fall returns. She smirks wickedly at Ruby, squinting her one functional eye at her. Ruby yells in anger as she springs up to her feet and runs at her, but only to grab the bars. But all that sudden adrenaline pumping across her body like that takes a toll on the little girl. She feels the pain around her eye once more, squirming from the agony that she is suffering from, something that Cinder probably can relate to. Cinder lets a short laugh out from her lungs as she looks at Ruby in the cell that she was once thrown into. "Despite everything you've been through..." Cinder says, almost admirably. "...you still have that much fight in you." She finishes in amazement. Ruby's one eye twitches in anger at her as she stands there, all high and mighty as she used to be back at Beacon Academy.

"That tends to happen when you see a murderous woman before you." Ruby snarls in anger. Cinder rolls her only eye at her as she pushes her body off the wall and walking towards her again, her anklet clinking as it bounces against the skin on her foot.

"You're not  _still_ mad about that are you?" Cinder asks with a sarcastic smile, and that smile makes Ruby want to leap at her. And she does, she launches herself towards her, using her semblance to try and move through the gaps in the bars, but it has no effect. They thought about that, there is a kinetic barrier that is keeping her trapped inside of that cell. Her semblance won't free her from her current predicament. She can only hope that she can find a better opportunity later down the line. Ruby is launches backwards from the impact that created a small pulse to send her flying backwards into the wall. She groans in pain, and she notices blood dripping from her bandage from hitting the wall. She must have ruptured a stitch. She carefully touches the bandage and Cinder sighs. "Now look what you've done." Cinder scoffs as she walks over to the bars. She opens the door and shuts it swiftly so then Ruby can't make a run for it. Because she knows she would try to. She also knows that she wouldn't get very far, but it would save a lot of time. She reaches into a satchel she has clipped to a belt around her waist and she takes out a fresh piece of gauze. "Stay still." She says, crouching down as she takes the bandage off the squirming girl's head. But eventually she manages it and she immediately sees what Ruby did. She hit her head against the wall and it causes a stitch to tear.

She attempts to fix the wound with the med-kit she has on her, but as soon as she goes to help, Ruby grabs her wrist and smashes her head into Cinder's. She grunts in pain, but Ruby suffers the worst from that impact, causing her to nearly start crying from the sharp pains in her eye that she keeps on inflicting from her own anger and stubbornness. Cinder has a mark on her cheek from where Ruby head butt her, but she still goes over to Ruby to help her. Ruby feels her hand touch the bottom of her chin and she lifts her head up and she continues to fix the horrifically damaged eye. The arrow completely tore her eye out and did damage to the socket as well, scraping across the side of her face. Blood leaks from the wounds that she has ruptured, and Cinder cleans it up with a cloth and some disinfectant. The alcohol makes Ruby scream in agony as it works away on her eye, but Cinder keeps her head still, probably using the strength of the Fall Maiden to keep her still. Ruby looks at Cinder as she cleans the eye and actually makes her a new patch around the damage. "I guess we're even now." Cinder says with a smile as she rises back up and she turns to leave her.

"Why?" Ruby asks her, which makes her stop before she leaves her cell to stand back outside.

"Why did I kill her?" Cinder asks her. She pauses as she searches for an answer, closing her eyes as she thinks. But whilst she stands there, she actually sheds a tear before even answering the question. "I had no choice." She says as she opens the door and closes it, standing outside again. Ruby touches the patch that she made for Ruby and the pain is starting to subside.

"I meant:  _why did you help me just now?_ " Ruby asks her innocently. Cinder looks back at her, through the bars that are in between them and she stands against the wall by the bars, bending her leg back against the wall. The light from the torches on the walls glistens off the beautiful Black Fall Maiden dress that she wears, scales of diamonds woven into it with the same markings as the old outfit she wore. Most likely destroyed from Ruby's silver eyes.

"I don't know." Cinder confesses as she looks down at the floor, she has become a lot less confident, even the smirk that she just had earlier has gone away. She has returned to the person she really is, someone who is actually very shy and scared.

"You wanted to kill me, last time we met." Ruby points out, remembering the forest battle outside of Mistral only a few days ago, when Yang destroyed her and Salem's other weapons of division, from absorbing her attack and sending it straight back in her fight against them all. Then Death showed up and nearly killed all four of them in a couple of seconds. As always. "What changed?" Ruby asks her. Cinder does not answer, but she does have her own theories about why she is being so caring without even thinking. If what Glynda, Ozpin, Qrow and Ironwood said is true, then she could be experiencing the side effects of her aura being combined with Amber's. Within the aura contains the personality, and Amber was a very kind and loving person. Without even realising, Cinder is starting to find herself having the same sort of emotions.

Perhaps even regret over killing Pyrrha the way she did. Ruby sits there in the darkness, feeling alone. But ironically, the closest things to friends that she actually has here at Salem's Sanctuary are Cinder, Mercury and Emerald.

Cinder's eye trails down the hall and she notices Tyrian stood there, glaring at her. She just stares at him and then he walks off.

Like a mangy dog, he is trying to get to Ruby when she is all alone.

**Qrow**

He stands with Winter and Raven around a table, he has his Scythe leant against the table, next to his weapon is Winter's sword and on the other side is Raven's Odachi. The three of them are overlooking a map on the table. The rest of the team are asleep, they have earned a rest after everything that has happened. But the room is feeling a lot more empty after the tragic loss of Scarlet David and Sage Ayana. And with Ruby, Oscar and Jaune missing, they are all feeling pretty defeated right now. But on the upside, Weiss and Neptune are recovering from the battle, the nurses have managed to use some tech that that acquired to help him walk again, using cybernetic implants in his legs to help move them. Weiss was extremely lucky that from being stabbed that they stopped Death from pushing the sword any further, because they managed to repair the wounds by having a medic who has a very unique and powerful ability which is to heal wounds. She managed to use her aura to repair the damage to her organs and the body itself which has restored her, near enough, to how she was. She will need time to recover and she has a scar but she will survive. The procedure was not possible for Neptune for he was getting worse by the second. So they had to use the old fashioned method, since the nurse was exhausted after helping Weiss. Either way, he has stated that now he can run faster and kick harder and be even more awesome than he already was.

That was followed up by a swift slap from Weiss since she is right next to him, a slap that was so hard that it probably knocked him out. They hands are close to each other as they sleep. Yang and Kassius are asleep; Kassius took the floor above a mattress so Yang could sleep on it. Nora insisted that Ren would share the mattress with him, snuggled up in his arms. And Blake and Sun are both asleep. He let Blake take the sofa whilst he sleeps against in on the floor. It is clear which people are closest in the room. They all have been beaten and bruised from the Battle for Mistral, their clothes torn and tattered from the bloody combat in the city. Thara Nikos, Pyrrha's mother is also here, asleep in the corner. She has lost everything, her entire family history burnt to ash during the riot that started the fall.

Qrow looks back at them all, and his emotions are clouded for he cannot see his beloved daughter: Ruby Rose. This is a fact that few really know, Raven being one of them. Winter has heard some rumours but she does not know the full story. Raven looks at her brother, and Cinder is not the only one who has changed since the return of the Knights of Grimm. "Qrow?" Raven quietly ushers. Her voice gets his attention and he turns to her, still feeling surprised that he is actually working with her again. If only Taiyang were here to fill the remaining members of Team S.T.R.Q.

"Yeah?" Qrow responds, snapping out of it as he starts to listen again. She can tell that he is struggling, knowing that his daughter is out there somewhere, alone and surrounded by people who want to kill her.

"I was just saying to Winter about the possible clues to finding out where she went are." Raven says. Luckily for them, Raven does not mess around when she makes a deal. She immediately gets to it, if they can get some other business to her cause done along the way, then they can get it done, but she knows what the priority is. Qrow looks over the map, and it is quite detailed, a full map of Remnant with the four Kingdoms marked. But two of them now have red crosses scrawled across them. Beacon and Haven Academy have been destroyed. But Vale was not, it was secured unlike the city. Except for the troubling factor that has them worrying about its safety.

They have stopped reporting in for the past few days. Perhaps they have been doing it to stay safe against the Knights or the Acolytes...but they cannot worry about it right now. They have more pressing matters on hand at the moment. "Any contacts in particular?" Winter asks her, her large blue eyes turning to the red eyed woman to her side.

"Just one. Last time we had contact with him, it came from here. I sent some Tribesmen to find him, they never came back." She explains, her finger placed upon the section of desert on the outskirts of Mistral. Not as large of a desert in comparison to Vacuo, but it is better than nothing.

"What's his name?" Qrow asks.

"Name is unknown, he just refers to himself as the Architect." Raven answers, her finger pressed upon that location. "Ever since we took Sienna Khan in, she has been grateful enough to tell me where her outposts are hidden across Remnant. Many have stopped reporting in, with the Acolytes and the Knights wiping them out. She thinks there could be some White Fang still in there somewhere. If we can find them, they could help us find the Architect." She explains. They saved Sienna Khan...the leader of the White Fang, unlike Adam who was taking matters into his own hands. The Knights do seem to have an effect of uniting people under the threat of an extinction event knocking on their doors. Even Raven changed so much after all of this, she used to be very ruthless, one who believed in survival of the fittest above everything. Perhaps when something stronger arises and suddenly she is the prey along with her people...it put things in perspective for her.

She is now the weak one in comparison to the Knights.

She seems to think that this  _Architect_ can help them, if he can help them though then it is a risk that they can take. "How close can you get us with your portals?" Qrow asks.

"I can get you into the desert. I need to stay with my people, tend to the wounded and try and find any more clues to figure out where they could be hiding. I have hunches but it would be suicide to try some of them." Raven explains. The map has many different areas that have different coloured circles. There is a dark continent in the shape of a Dragon which has a bright red circle, which clearly means that nobody should go there. Vacuo is coated in red X's, which makes sense. It is one of the most dangerous locations on Remnant, some of the nastiest Grimm live there. And with Menagerie destroyed, Grimm have been congregating there, like the schools have been.

Qrow nods, pushing himself away from the table. "Thanks..." He says, turning and walking away.

"I'll go with you." Winter says. Qrow doesn't say no, he doesn't say a lot of things. He enters the room and he sits down on a chair, burying his head in his hands. Winter looks at Qrow and she crouches down beside him s he sits there. She puts her hand on his back, smiling gently at him. "What's wrong?" She asks him. He tenses his hand into a fist.

"I just want to find her." He says, still not revealing the truth even if she cannot figure it out herself.

"This is the best chance that we have." Winter says to him. She is one of the few people that has actually cleaned herself up after the battle, no more silt on her body or in her hair unlike the rest of the people here. She seems to glow beside Qrow. Qrow looks at her and he smirks, nodding.

**The Onyx Phantom**

Her eye looks straight through the scope of her Sniper's Rifle. The cross-hairs fixed on the location of someone in hiding. Before her is an abandoned Schnee Ship, left to rust on the shores of Vale. Her glowing orange eyes glare straight at the area as a bunch of vehicles begin to converge on the area. The vehicles are painted black and red as they approach, filled with Mercenaries who are ready for combat. She lays down on the rooftop of a building as she waits up there, her two swords sheathed on the belt around her pelvis. She is motionless, and emotionless as she waits.

The trucks stop around the abandoned barge, aircrafts hover around the barge with spotlights shining upon the rusted metal, the Schnee Symbol faded over the years. The night remains, allowing the people to sneak up undetected. One of the Mercenaries steps out, a Captain, and he looks at the ship. "Those two are here somewhere. Fan out! Find them!" He orders, a booming voice. He has a bionic arm, like many of them do. Two of the soldiers pick up their Sub-Machine Guns and they engage their high-tech Merlot Industries designed backpacks. Dust charges into the canisters engaged in their suits and they suddenly dart off, running at supersonic speeds across the terrain to get to the vehicle. They are running so fast that they are actually able to sprint across the water, spraying the water into the moonlight. One of the soldiers walks past the Captain, wearing a huge armoured suit with a massive machine gun built into one of the arms, three long barrels spinning round. The helmet has a horizontal, glowing red visor that scans the area. The other arm has a huge shield built onto it that folds out, and he slams it down. There are three others, called Juggernauts that set up these positions. The Grunts, normal soldiers, take cover behind the shields, aiming their rifles at the area. The Helicopters patrol over the water, missile launchers attached to the wings to attack whoever it is that they have tracked down to this area. More soldiers arrive at the boat when the Seekers, the fast soldiers, clamber up the side of the ship. They walk carefully down the rusted pathways, speaking to each other through their radios. All soldiers have thruster packs on them to help them jump higher and move quicker, but only some have the high tech stuff.

The Captain holds his Assault Rifle in his hands, a grenade launcher built onto the lower rail as he watches the procedure. He looks at the bounty on the head of the two targets. "Let's find these two, they have been hiding here ever since the Vytal Tournament." He says. The image shows the faces of the two people that are being hunted down by the Acolytes of Lien. One of them is a young, dark-skinned man with dark brown eyes. He wears rectangular sunglasses and a dark fedora with a blue trim on his head, as well as an earring on his right ear. He also wears a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt, with a loose tie wrapped around the collar. Completing his attire is a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes and a dark glove on his left hand. And the other is a young girl with a light complexion. She has green eyes and moderate red-orange hair done up in two ponytails with light blue streaks. As a feline Faunus, her physical trait is that of a tail covered with pink fur that becomes lighter toward the tip. Her outfit has a large range of bright colours. She wears a light blue tank top on top of a dark purple bra, dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt and white belt with a yellow winking smiley face on the buckle. Two buttons are fixed to her tank top above her right breast, one purple with a cat design and another green one with a heart. She also has a white cat bell collar around her neck, a pair of bracers on her arms and pads on her shins and knees. She wears roller blades, which she also uses to move around. A tattoo of a shooting star with a red, green and yellow trail winds around her right arm.

It's Flynt Coal and Neon Katt.

The Captain smirks. "A shame, I liked those two. Let's find 'em boys!" He shouts.

The Onyx Phantom remains where she has been based the whole time, her eyes focused through the scope of her rifle as she waits for the soldiers to draw the two out from their base. And as seen from the screen, the rest of Team F.N.K.I has been killed already, all that remains are these two. One of the soldiers opens up a box in the truck and he throws a pair of remote controlled drones into the air and they fly towards the ship with cameras fitted onto them. The soldiers continue to search for them, checking every single hiding spot. The helicopter approaches one of the empty columns that contained dust once and the spotlight focuses on it. As it looks, it spots a neon coloured marking on it. And some blood. They already got a good hit on Neon already. "Think we've found them, rear Column." The pilot reports. The soldiers approach the column and they press a pair of explosives to the side of it and they take cover, lifting a detonator above his head.

"Blow it!" One of the Mercenaries yells.

He presses his thumb down on the button and the explosion detonates with a huge bang and a bright flash. The steel that makes up the column shatters like glass, cracking it from the heat and the cool air completely crunches it down. The blast blows the column apart, and through the smoke the two Team Members are thrown from it. Flynt groans in pain as his aura wears off, the same as Neon's as they both tumble across the deck. His sunglasses have been completely shattered and fire burns across his outfit. "Got ya!" The Captain cheers emphatically with a smirk. The two try to get up but the helicopter launches missiles straight at them, the explosion throws them from the deck and into the water with a splash. They both run as fast as they can, Neon uses her roller-skates to move quickly and Flynt runs quickly. He wields his trumpet in his hand and he looks over his shoulder as the bright flash of headlights shines upon them as they flee from them. The Off-Road vehicles bounce across the terrain as they pursue them, soldiers firing weapons at them. One of them shoots straight at him and the bullet pierces through his shoulder and into the Trumpet, causing the Trumpet to explode into little pieces. Neon looks back as she sees him fall over. He drops the Trumpet when a pair of vehicles emerge before him, so he raises his hands in surrender.

Neon turns back to help, leaping over them and kicking a soldier across the face with her heel. The soldier yells in pain and she swings her Nun-chucks across the other's faces. But the Captain emerges and fires his Assault Rifle at Neon, hitting her in the chest with a few rounds. Neon cries out in agony, blood splattering against the wall. She lays on the floor in pain, bleeding out. "Neon!" Flynt yells. "We surrender!" Flynt yells, standing up, in front of his partner. He has no idea that he has just become a prime target for the Onyx Phantom as he stands there with his hands above his head. "We're huntsmen! Why are you attacking us?" Flynt yells.

"Why didn't you do your job?" One of the Mercenaries asks him.

"You talking about Beacon?" Flynt questions. "We tried and we failed!" Flynt argues.

"I had a girlfriend in Vale. You'll get no sympathy from me." One of the soldiers says to him with a cold stare.

"We will try and help, make it right, I just beg of you, let us live." He begs. The Captain smirks.

"Your contract wasn't for  _Dead or Alive._ " The Captain says. "Dead would do just fine." He says.

The Onyx Phantom pulls the trigger, launching a bullet across the shipyard that punctures through his chest and out his back, throwing him onto the floor. Flynt lays beside Neon in agony, bleeding into the dirt. She has died from her injuries and he feels utterly helpless when he sees the Onyx Phantom approaching. The High Tech suit has stealth capabilities, appearing behind one of the soldiers. One soldier aims his rifle at her and she stops, looking straight at him with flaming eyes. "Check your fire! She's a friendly!" The Captain orders to the soldier, making him lower the rifle, and she looks back at the two on the floor. She draws her swords and when she approaches, they gasp when they see the four black doorways opening.

Death, Fear, Loss and Fury emerge.

Fear walks with the Onyx Phantom and looks at one of the soldiers. "He's ours now." Fear says to him. The Captain nods and they all stand down. Fury snarls constantly as he walks and Loss remains quiet, holding her bow in her hand. Fear looks down at Flynt as he looks at them, and Death stares straight at him.

"Who are...you?" Flynt splutters in agony.

"Identities...aren't they so important?" Fear scoffs as he stands there. "All about colour with your kind, isn't it?" Fear scoffs. "Humans, Faunus...like little children, always fighting. Making a mess out of Remnant, leaving cadavers for the likes of us to clean up behind you." Fear continues, speaking almost as theatrically as Tyrian does. "There is one way you can walk away from this, Flynt Coal. Tell us where to find them...where are the Huntsmen hiding?" Fear demands. Flynt scowls at him and spits a mouth full of blood into the face of Fear. He hardly even reacts to it, just wiping the blood from his rotten face with a sigh as he looks down at the brave man.

"I'd rather die." Flynt growls.

"That can be arranged." Fear says, turning to the Onyx Phantom and just nodding to her.

The Onyx Phantom approaches Flynt and she throws her sword into the air, catching it by the hilt so the blade is pointed downwards. She then slams the blade of her sword straight into his heart with force and she pushes the blade straight down with force. Flynt strains in agony, holding the blade as she slowly pushes it down until he dies. His eyes roll into the back of his head whilst he splutters and chokes. She twists the blade, then rips it from his heart, blood dripping from the sword. She sheathes the sword, turning away and walking off without saying a word. Fear chuckles as he picks up his hat, looking at it. "Nice hat." He says, walking past a soldier and putting the hat on his head, leaving as quickly as they arrived.

"Take the bodies, Merlot wants them for his experiments." The Captain says, the soldiers pick up their bodies and they shove them both into body bags, zipping them off and they push them into the trucks as they leave the scene of the murder.

Now Team F.N.K.I are gone as well.


	3. Rumours and Lies

**Yang**

The sun slowly rises into the sky, this long night has finally come to a close, and as the sun rises into the sky...the damage is more visible. Haven Academy has completely collapsed into the two mountains that it once stood upon, the fires have been extinguished, leaving skyscrapers of smoke to rise into the blue haze of Remnant's skies. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in one night from the power of the four Knights. The Dragon remains at the city, circling it, it's roars echoing across the land. Nevermores and Griffins flying with it, tracking down survivors and picking them off one by one. Ashes float through the wind like the petals of roses. The Nikos Residence has collapsed from the fire that consumed its strength, destroying and burying everything that the Nikos name held dear. Pyrrha's posters rotting away as they are left to succumb to the forces of nature that reclaim the land. Alpha Beowulves howl to the skies, claiming the entire city.

The Acolytes of Lien have been picking the civilians off who managed to escape and were unfortunate enough to not be saved by Raven's Tribe.

Yang wakes up, a gasp escaping her mouth when she wakes, sitting upright as she looks around. Initially for her sister, despite the fact that she knows she is not here. She turns to her side where Kassius was but he is not there. She looks over to see him stood over by an opening. Three columns of concrete in the side of the mountain and he can see all of this, the Dragon still circling the detritus of Mistral. The Academy destroyed. He presses his hand against the concrete with his metal hand as he watches the Grimm...seeing their failure before them all. Yang sits up, wearing her orange vest under the bed sheet that he let her cover herself with. And for the first time in a long time, Kassius is not wearing his armour. He is wearing some relatively normal clothing. A brown shirt with a brown fluffy collared jacket and some jeans. His armoured suit is sat on a chair in the corner, recharging its dust cells that helps him be stronger. Her tanned jacket is beside her along with Ember Celica. She slowly gets back up, looking at him as he observes Mistral. "Kas?" She whispers. He turns and looks at her.

"Hey, Yang." He greets. He continues to look out there. And Yang looks with him.

"It's a mess." Yang sighs as she looks down at the floor.

"Yes it is." Kassius huffs. She continues to look at him as he stands there.

"How long have you been there?" Yang inquires with a tilted head. He does not face her but he does answer.

"Around four or five eyes at this point." Kassius answers, which is much longer than she expected. She has only had around five hours sleep anyway.

"Do you ever sleep?" She asks with a shocked voice. Kassius chuckles, stepping away from the edge, past her.

"I struggle." He answers vaguely as he returns to his suit and his weapons. He picks up Lash Equinox, one of the blades anyway, and he flicks it upwards. The hilt opens and the blade folds out, each piece of metal connects together, magnetising onto one another, the gleam of the sunlight running across the serrated blade. Yang walks up to his side.

"Is it to do with Vetra? And your team?" She pries. He looks at her and his expression is ambiguous. It either looks like he is afraid to actually answer her question or there is anger at the fact she brought them up. But she trusts him, perhaps more than he trusts himself.

"Partly..." He answers, running his human finger across the blade.

"And the other part?" Yang asks.

He pauses and flicks the blade downwards, setting it down on the table forcefully with a thud. "It's complicated." Kassius shoves off, walking past Yang without even looking at her. Kassius has become much colder recently, and not just towards her, but towards everyone. It is his way of dealing with a defeat, and one as heavy as this, he tends to blame himself, and that self-blame can accidentally be thrown into others. Even if he does not even mean it. But Yang looks at him as he walks back to the wall, just looking out there. And she is starting to catch on that he is holding something back, so she walks over to his side to look at him.

"Kassius..." She whispers, touching his cheek with her human hand. "What happened back there?" Yang asks. "When Death attacked me, you snapped...your eyes turned red like mine but it was more furious." Yang explains. "I've never seen you crack like that before, what is going on?" Yang asks. He sighs, exhaling heavily.

"It's a long story." Kassius answers. "I will tell you, just not yet." He says.

Before Yang can press any further, Qrow returns to them all with his sword in his hand, setting it down against the railing and he leans against it, crossing his arms as he stands there. Yang looks at him and she walks up to him, leaving Kassius to his thoughts. A good thing as well, since he has a lot on his mind right now. Yang paces up the steps to Qrow and she looks at him. "Uncle Qrow? Do you have anything?" Yang asks, her thoughts instantly go to her sister, or cousin in this case. But to her Ruby will always be her sister, doesn't matter to her. Despite the fact that she does not know the truth yet. Qrow looks at the tall lilac eyed blonde that stands beside him and he nods, righting up.

"We have a lead of sorts." Qrow says, almost reluctantly.

"Tell me." Yang begs.

"Raven told me some info that could be a possible ally that can help. An informant." Qrow begins. "They only know of him as somebody called the Architect. He is found in the outskirts of Mistral, a small desert near the ocean." Qrow explains.

"Well lets go." Yang says, walking over to her jacket and weapon on the floor.

"There's more." Qrow adds, which makes her stop.

"What?" Yang immediately responds.

"The last location has some deadly Grimm sighted there and there are White Fang there. The Tribe have been helping them, taking in any survivors that they can possibly can. After Beacon, the White Fang have been getting wiped out by the Grimm, most likely the Knights. They have the leader here at the base, she told them that there is an outpost and they are most likely still on the list to be attacked next. She said that if we can save them from the Grimm then they will be in our debt." Qrow paraphrases.

This is good, this means that they are going to increase their numbers, with more people on their side then this means that they could build an alliance against the Knights. "I guess the Knights have gotten the White Fang to realise that they were on the wrong side." Yang chuckles.

"Well, not all." Qrow states.

Yang looks at him. "Adam has not been seen since the fall of Mistral. His partners in crime, Fennec and Corsac Albain are with him...along with Ilia Amitola." When Qrow mentions those names Yang looks over her shoulder at where Kassius is. It doesn't seem like he heard her name. "That Lieutenant is probably with him as well." Qrow adds.

"Well, he did help us fight Fury." Yang says.

"Yeah, so perhaps he is on our side...we can only find that out if he comes and finds us." Qrow explains. "But are you sure you want him with us? After everything he did?" Qrow asks, his eyes looking straight at Yang's metal arm. Yang looks at it and then back at Qrow.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. It's what Ruby would do." Yang says. A smile forms on Qrow's face and he walks down to Yang and he pats her shoulder.

"Atta-girl." Qrow contently says. He walks past her and he stops. "We should gather those who want to come help find this guy." Qrow says, looking over at Kassius. "Kassius?" He asks. Kassius turns and he must have heard the end of the conversation, or at least enough to know that they have a mission. Kassius looks at Qrow and he nods.

"Yeah...I'm on board." He assures.

Slowly everyone starts to wake back up, looking around slowly. Weiss and Neptune look around but they are in no condition to be in combat right now. But Sun, Blake, Nora and Ren stand with them, picking their weapons up from the floor. Informed and ready to get back out there into the action, they all look around. Nora grabs Ren's hand with a big smile on her face. "You ready?" Nora squeaks. Ren sighs.

"Sure." Ren bluntly says. Nora giggles with a little dance, picking up Magnhild in her hands with a mad smirk on her face. Yang cocks her Gauntlets and Blake sheathes Gambol Shroud into the scabbard, attaching it to the magnetic strip of metal in her armour. Her long charcoal black hair bounces as she moves and she turns to see Sun picking up Ruyi Jingu Bang. He is someone else who has not been saying much, after nearly losing his entire team, he has become far less enthusiastic compared to what they are used to. Bringing back a version of Sun Wukong that only Blake really has ever seen, when he told her about what happened to his parents. When Hazel killed them right in front of him and he was helpless to stop him. Sun looks at the concerned Belladonna who looks right at him with a gentle smile. But as he always does, he puts on a smile to try and stifle her concerns. He bottles his emotions up behind his usually jokey personality.

Much like Nora.

Kassius steps into his suit of armour and as he enters it, it engages the activation process. The plates of metal close around his body and they lock together, cogs swirling into one another. It has no sleeve, just his metal arm which is strong enough on its own. He fits Vulcan Nox onto his wrists, the six barrels spin round, loading fresh bullets into the chambers with a solid clicking sound. They flash green when they are primed, he then picks up his two Lash Equinox Swords and he attaches them to the magnets on his suit so they stay connected to him at all times. Finally, he turns to his tanned Stetson on the table and he picks it up, batting some of the silt from the surface, and he fits it onto his head.

Winter emerges from where they had their meeting with Raven, holding her sword in her hand. She pats her little sister's head gently. "We'll be back." She assures. Weiss smiles to her sister.

"Give them hell for us, would you?" Weiss asks. Neptune smiles, giving her a thumbs up where he sits and surprisingly, she returns with the same expression.

Raven emerges with her Odachi in hand and she draws the blade.

"Everyone ready?" Raven asks them, the red blade glowing as she holds it. Yang looks at her mother with the team that are with them. Yang, Kassius, Qrow, Winter, Blake, Sun, Ren and Nora. One hell of a team, one that also has no colour coded name to it. Yang smiles and nods as she stands there, Blake to one side of her shoulders and Kassius on the other, Qrow stood behind her with his sword rested on his shoulder. She holds out her scroll. "Contact me when you find him?" She asks.

"You got it." Yang assures with a smile.

Raven steps aside, thrashing the blade of her sword up to form a red portal behind her that she lets them walk through. Yang takes the first steps, everyone follows her lead as she walks into the portal. She vanishes into the red hue and one by one they all vanish. Nora walks backwards, looking at Weiss and Neptune as she walks. "You better be here when we re-" Before she can even finish, she enters the portal mid-way through her sentence and the portal on this side closes.

Neptune looks at Weiss. "Uh...did you catch that last part?" Neptune asks.

"I guess we'll ask her when she returns." Weiss sighs.

**Oscar**

"Oscar!" Ozpin's voice calls.

Oscar gasps violently as his hazel coloured eyes snap open, his body jolting forward from hearing his voice again. He hyperventilates where he sits and he looks around the cell. His eyes focus on the cell over from him, and the silver eyed girl is asleep inside, in the dark corner where she is left. Either asleep or has been given more medication for her wounds. It is unclear if Cinder, Emerald and Mercury are supposed to be doing this or not. But Salem's motives are somewhat confusing. And it is very clear that Death can see that. "What is it?" Oscar asks Ozpin as he looks around, his hands pressed against the ice cold floor.

"You cannot sleep here for too long, Oscar. These people could be ready to spring a trap on you at any moment’s notice." Ozpin explains to him. Oscar shakes slightly, feeling a twitch in the back of his head. He scratches his messy black hair, looking around the floor, seeing scratch marks and dark black stains. Beowulves were kept in here once. And here he is, a prisoner beside his friend. He crawls over to the bars in the cell to look at Ruby.

"Ruby!" He whispers to try and wake her up. He checks down the halls. He can hear the distant laughs of Tyrian nearby as he walks around. He has been trying to get there but Cinder has been...guarding...Ruby this whole time.

Ruby moves slightly where she hides.

She isn't asleep, she is waiting. Curled up into a ball, she feels weak and vulnerable with her eye in the condition that it is. Oscar goes to call her again but he hears a door slam down the hallway and someone starts walking down the path. Oscar crawls away from the bars and he sits against the wall, playing with the laces of his shoe to act like he was not trying to talk to Ruby. The person approaches the cells and he stops. He is a large, muscular man with short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes. He wears a two-tone olive green coat over a black three quarter length sleeved shirt, and a large belt. His pants are black and his boots are brown with white fronts. His hairy arms appear to have some scars near the edges of his sleeves. The massive man stares at them both, holding two trays with actual food on them. His hazel coloured eyes look at Oscar and he slides the tray under the gap, the shields let the tray pass through somehow and it moves right up to his side. Some sort of steak, probably from a deer or cow with some vegetables. Broccoli and carrots, that sort of thing. Quite a nice meal for a couple of prisoners to have. "Here you go." He says, a deep gravelly voice as he speaks. Oscar gasps and he looks at him, and he immediately recognises him.

Hazel Rainart.

He met him at the Train Station to get to Mistral in the first place, and he helped him. Hazel turns to Ruby and he pushes the tray into her cell as well, she looks over at it and then at Hazel, but then she turns back into the shadows to not look at him. She is scared admittedly. But Oscar looks right at Hazel as he stands there. "Oscar...don't..." He begs.

But Oscar is stubborn. "Who are you?" Oscar questions, since he may have memories of Hazel but he does not truly know his name. Hazel looks at Oscar and then he recognises him as well.

"You're that boy from the train station." He remembers as he looks at him.

" _Don't let such a small obstacle block your path?_ " Oscar recites from memory, Hazel exhales sharply through his nostrils, like he laughs a little.

"How ironic...that you have become a obstacle." He chuckles as he looks at him.

"Why did you help me, then?" Oscar questions. Hazel just stands there when Oscar brings that up and he grabs the bridge of his nose, looking away from the boy with similar coloured eyes. He then turns back to him, his shadow cast over his small frame.

"Perhaps the old me is still in here somewhere." Hazel says. Hazel turns to walk away, and Oscar hears Ozpin speak in his head.

"The student I knew is still in there...I just hope he can find it within his mind." Ozpin states. Hazel walks away but he stops to look back at Oscar.

"Hazel." He announces, getting his attention.

"Huh?" Oscar replies.

"Hazel Rainart.  _That_ is my name." Hazel answers, continuing on his path as he walks away from him. Oscar picks up the tray and he looks at it. If these two have any friends compared with the others, there are actually four of them.

Hazel

Cinder

Mercury

And Emerald.

But it is a stretch at best. He sighs as he sits there, and then Ruby turns round to see Oscar. This is the first time that he has actually seen Ruby since he was captured. He never knew about her eye until right now and a gasp escapes his lungs. "Ruby..." Ozpin's voice gasps in horror when he sees through Oscar's eyes, the torment on the poor girl's face. She looks at Oscar as he sits there and he crawls up to the bars, clutching onto them as he looks at her.

"Ruby?" He whispers.

"Hey, Oscar." Ruby sombrely replies, looking down at the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"What happened? Who did that to you?" He asks with a nervous voice.

"Death." Ruby answers. "He shot an arrow at me, I tried to escape but it just got my eye." Ruby explains, pointing at the bandage that covers it.

"Who gave you the bandage?" Oscar asks. Ruby looks at him with a smile that seems like she still does not believe it when she answers the question.

"Cinder." She answers. Oscar can feel the shock and confusion that is going through the mind of Professor Ozpin in his head right now. Wherever he is, he has not been in the loop of  _everything_ that's been happening. Especially to Cinder in this dreadful place. The last time Ozpin met her, he was going to be killed by her. But she didn't kill him, for some reason, she spared his life when she could have easily killed him. But she still killed Pyrrha? There are so many unanswered questions surrounding what happened that night in their clash that must be answered. And the answers are somehow being hidden from Oscar, Ozpin is locking off portions of memory and emotions from him to keep them all a secret from him. They sit there and he continues to look over.

But when Oscar looks at her, he hears the chilling cackling laughter of one deranged, psychotic scorpion Faunus approaching. He hums in a singsong tone as he approaches, exaggeratedly swinging his feet in the air as he walks over to Ruby's cell. His arrival causes Oscar to retreat back and he walks over to her cell. His golden eyes staring at her as he smirks, his scorpion tail crunching as it moves around erratically. "Little red flower..." He whispers maniacally. Ruby stammers in fear when she looks at him, his eyes fixated on her silver eyes. Ruby hides in the darkness as he grabs the bar, staring at her with his maniacal gritted smirk that has been carved across his face. He tightens his grip on the iron metal that stands between him and his prey. "I still think that we have some unfinished business." He snarls evilly. "You humiliated me." He growls, his tail rising up as his hand points to it.

Ruby shakes but she tries to stay as brave as she possibly can. "You hurt my uncle." She softly says to him. Tyrian gasps in amazement, the gasp bouncing into laughter, his hand on his chest as he bends back to laugh. His cackles echo down the hallway.

"How sweet of you." He chortles. Whilst he stands there, Oscar stands up and he shouts at Tyrian.

"Hey!" Oscar yells. Tyrian's eyes pop wide, and the grin curves further as his eyes turn to where the young shout came from. He looks over his shoulder to look at him, stepping towards his cell. "Leave her alone!" Oscar challenges audaciously. Tyrian chuckles at the sight of the equal aged boy defending the girl he has only known for a few days. He takes a couple of casual steps towards the cell, still smirking away as he stares at him. He places his hand on his scarred chest and then points at little Ruby in her cell.

"Oh! Are you a friend of hers?" Tyrian questions, looking into his eyes to try and make him defend her again. He wants a challenger. "Or more?" He suggestively says with rising eyebrows, constantly sneering.

"Who are you?" Oscar questions.

"Be careful, Oscar. This man does not seem like he is to be trifled with, you could get yourself or even Ruby killed." Ozpin warns in his head, making Oscar's eye turn a little to hear him. Tyrian slaps the side of his head and shakes his head with a laugh.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" He theatrically wonders. He then takes a bow before Oscar. "I'm Tyrian." He announces. "Tyrian Callows, finest hunter that has ever lived. For it is not just  _anyone_ who can capture a Silver Eyed Warrior." He scoffs, giving himself the title despite the fact that it was mainly Death that did most of the work. But this is probably all part of Death's manipulative scheme to control them. He controls Cinder through fear along with Mercury and Emerald, he gives Watts the honour to become more powerful with his plans and he gives Tyrian the means to fill his thirst for blood. "And you are?" Tyrian asks, tilting his head.

"Oscar Pine." Oscar answers, still remaining as stoic as ever.

"Oscar Pine!" Tyrian repeats enthusiastically. "You know I think I heard about you." He says.

"Did you now?" Oscar scoffs.

"Oscar..." Ozpin whispers to try and get him to calm down.

"Indeed, I have heard that you have an Aunt at your farm, is that correct?" Tyrian questions. But Oscar does not answer because he knows that Tyrian is testing him. "I also have heard a rumour or two, just some gossip, that one of the reasons that you wanted to become a Huntsman is to be a hero. So then you could have a  _certain someone_ in your life?" He presumes as he approaches his cell, crossing his arms. Oscar stammers, because he is starting to realise that Tyrian knows more about him that he begins to realise. Somehow he knows of his reasons that many do not.

Fear...

He searched his mind back at the forest.

He must have told Tyrian about this, since the Knights seem to approve of Tyrian the most out of the four members of Salem's crew. Tyrian sniggers at Oscar as he backs away from the cell as he grabs the bars of his cell. "Perhaps..." He begins, taking a step aside and holding his hand out to Ruby as he stands there. "...she lays before you?" Tyrian presumes. And the lack of an answer is all that Tyrian needed as he approaches her cell once again.

"Leave her alone!" He begs.

"Fear is all about theatrics, Oscar. So I hope you will indulge me on this show." He says, holding a video camera and his other hand is the wrist blades as he opens the door and slams it shut behind him. The blade extends upwards with a metallic scraping sound, the light gleaming off the serrated blade as he grins at Oscar and then turns to Ruby. "Now...I am going to do what I should have done long ago." He snarls, grabbing Ruby by the throat and arching his arm back, causing Ruby to whimper in fear as he starts to record a message.

A message to be sent to her family.


	4. Arachnophobia

**The Onyx Phantom**

The white haired, privileged boy waltzes through the halls of his home. Hands crossed behind his back as he walks, passing by staff members who serve them. His mother still drinking in the garden over the potential loss of her two daughters after what happened at Mistral. But when he walks, he pauses in his tracks when he approaches a room. There is a gentle tune of a musical box style object inside the room. It sounds like  _twinkle, twinkle little star._ He peers inside and sees who is inside.

The dark armoured person looks down at a necklace which is open, allowing this beautiful tune to play to her. The black hood conceals her identity, but tears have formed in her glowing orange eyes as she sits there, looking down at the necklace. There is a photograph of a man inside, but before Whitley can get close enough to see what it is. She slams the necklace shut, the tune coming to a close. On the table is the mouth guard and she puts it back on, her breath emerging from the voice changer. She immediately puts the necklace on around her neck once more and stands up to face the boy. It's the Onyx Phantom, and he feels incredibly threatened by her presence. Tears still dripping from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and Whitley feels like she may need help. "Are you okay?" Whitley asks her. As always, she says absolutely nothing, she just looks away and walks straight past him, her fist clenched with fury now in her eyes. While Whitley stands there, he hears the heavy footfalls of metal boots. His eyes turn when he sees the tall, terrifying, metal chassis of Death as he walks down the hallways with the Onyx Phantom. His red eyes stare straight at him and Death creates a scoff as he walks on, leaving him behind as a black portal forms before him, opening it and they both enter it, the portal closes behind them both.

And they vanished.

Without a trace.

Whitley remains where he saw her, and the piano is beside her. The tune of the necklace still echoing in his mind as he thinks about it.

Whoever the Onyx Phantom is...

She has lost someone very dear to her.

And seeks vengeance.

The portal opens in Salem's Sanctuary, the Knight of Death walking past her. Cinder is sat at the table with Mercury and Emerald by both of her shoulders. She looks down at the thick table top before her, her eyes barely open as she looks away from Loss who is stood in the corner with her Bow in her hand. Her blue eyes glowing bright. Fury and Fear are elsewhere. Salem stands up from her throne as she sees Death enter with the Onyx Phantom. Hazel stands inside with Tyrian. Tyrian has bloodied knuckles and faint stains of blood on his blades, a smirk on his face and a couple scratches on his face. Ruby didn't let him torture her without a fight. But it seems like he won...god knows what he did to her. The Onyx Phantom stands there and Death walks towards Salem as she approaches him. "Our collaborators are doing their jobs?" Salem requests, stopping in front of the Knight of Death. Death nods as he presses the blade of Ferrum Arctus into the floor.

"Yes. Jacques Schnee is using his funds to help Doctor Merlot and the Acolytes of Lien, along with taking control of Atlas. Their Headmaster is currently in a prison." Death reports to her, and that is why he was there.

"Did you get any information of the whereabouts of the girl's friends?" Salem asks. Death looks at the Onyx Phantom and she walks towards Salem, placing a device down on the floor. It shows a map of Remnant, holographically projected from its metallic body as it sits on the floor. The holographic projection of remnant flashes a red beacon on the desert location that they have just teleported to. Somehow somebody at Atlas is getting information from them, perhaps there is a spy amongst Raven's group that is feeding information over to Atlas. A menacing smirk forms on her face as she stands there, her eyes glow bright red when she sees the location. She then looks at Hazel and Cinder. "Hazel, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald. Find them and take care of them." Salem orders. Hazel looks at Cinder and she looks at him. She stands up from her seat and nods to Salem. Loss waves her hand to create a black portal, the Knight Portal. An ability that they all share. The darkness swirls before the four of them. Emerald picks up her weapons, swinging them around by the chains as she walks and Mercury cracks his neck to get back into the fight. Cinder walks over and Hazel just walks up to the portal, stepping in first.

The Onyx Phantom watches as they enter and her eyes narrow as she watches.

But now the four people who are potentially friends to the two prisoners are now gone.

Which is not good for Ruby and Oscar.

**Yang**

The desert outside of Mistral is hot, but is nothing in comparison to Vacuo. Mirages ripple before them as they take their first steps from the red portal that they exit. Yang's boots sink through the sun-baked sand. Lizards scuttle across the desert floor. Yang's eyes look around the area and she turns to Kassius who is beside her. His Stetson protects his eyes from the harsh glow from the sun in the sky. Sun himself walks over and he stretches his arms. "Oh how I miss the hot air!" He jokingly says, holding Ruyi Jingu Bang, still holding up the side of who he is to hide the pain that he is suffering from. When they look around the desert, they all hear Nora emerging just as the portal collapses.

"...return." She finishes, and she looks confused since they clearly did not hear the end of her sentence on the other side of the portal.

"Was there a problem going through forwards?" Sun asks curiously.

"Is there a problem with minding your own business?" Ren asks rather sharply. Sun immediately apologises.

"Fair enough." He agrees with his hands held above his head. They all look around and Blake squints her eyes to see if there is anything out here.

"I dunno about you...but I can't see any village nearby." Blake says to them all. Qrow walks past them and he starts to make his way up one of the dunes. He holds his sword on his shoulder as he walks, and his movement urges Winter and Yang to follow him. The Schnee Woman does feel out of place, being in a desert, and she is already starting to sweat from the hot air. Far more extreme than anything they experience back at Atlas or even Mistral.

"She sent the portal to the closest and safest area of entry. Remember, the White Fang are on edge." Qrow points out as he makes his way up the dune. He stands tall, his tattered red cape blowing in the warm wind as he looks out, and not far is the location that they were speaking of. Winter exhales as she looks at it, Yang with her as well when she catches up.

"Is that the place?" Winter asks. Yang reaches into her jacket, before she left Taiyang to find Ruby, she did pack some essentials. Most have been lost, along with Bumblebee which is probably still stuck there with Kassius' motorcycle. But she did bring some binoculars with her. She fits them before her eyes to look around and she mumbles to herself as she looks around. She is checking for anything, mostly any signs of life or if the Grimm have already destroyed this place. However, the buildings are scatheless and there are White Fang soldiers patrolling the catwalks with Designated Marksman Rifles ready in their hands, still wearing the Grimm-Styled Masks. Yang lowers the Binoculars after her little analysis of the town.

"It's intact." Yang tells them both. Winter and Qrow look at her when she reports it.

"Are the White Fang still there?" Winter asks.

"Yep." Yang answers. "Still walking around like nothing is happening. We are here in time." She says.

Until there is a distant boom upon the town. The three of them sharply turn when they hear it, and Yang lifts the Binoculars back up to see what made that sound. Something attacked one of the entrances and the alarms are going off, the soldiers are heading to where it came from. Could be Grimm, but it could also be the Acolytes of Lien. "Jinxed it." Yang huffs as she puts the Binoculars back in her breast pocket. Yang turns to Blake, Sun, Nora, Ren and Kassius who are down there. "It's just started getting attacked, come on!" Yang calls as she jumps off the dune, sliding down it before Qrow or Winter do. Nora leaps past them with enthusiastic energy in her body as she slides down behind the blonde.

"Yippee!" She squeaks, zooming down the and. Winter looks at Qrow with a surprised expression as the younger ones dart past them.

"Are they  _always_ like this?" Winter asks. Qrow sighs.

"Pretty much." Qrow answers. Qrow takes a step back and then he follows them, sliding down the dunes and finally Winter goes with them. The team arrive together at the base of the Dunes, and they begin their approach on the town. There are soldiers at the gate, holding their weapons up when they see them coming. One shouts at them.

"Stay back!" The White Fang Member yells, and Yang stops first with Blake beside her.

"We're not here to fight!" Blake shouts back to try and gain their trust.

"You're gonna wake them up!" He says.

And on cue, suddenly a massive pincer erupts from the sand, grabbing the soldier and throwing him across the sky. He screams in terror as he flies into the sky and crashes onto the ground with force. The soldier is dragged into the sand, screaming in terror as he is consumed by the sand. Yang and Blake at the sand nervously as they feel deep vibrations moving around from underneath them. A pincer bursts from the sand, snapping at her and another at Blake. That's when the sand erupts like a mine has exploded from underneath them. Blake and Yang retreat when they see the huge arched barbed tail rising from the sand, the beast emerging with eight sharp feet. Armoured bone exoskeleton armour around its body. Ten glowing red eyes fixing with them as its sharp feet stab into the soil as it turns around to face them with a loud roar, snapping the pincers at them. The stinger glows bright gold, aimed straight at them. A Deathstalker, and it's a big one. Along with it, two more rise from the sand, jumping out with their weapons at the ready. Qrow groans. "We just had to jinx it, didn't we" He sighs.

The Greater Deathstalker roars at them, its mandibles flaring out at them all. "Let's kick it's butt!" Yang cheers as she fires Ember Celica straight at the huge Grimm Scorpion. The Deathstalker shields its eyes with the armoured pincers, causing the explosive shells to explode against them, dealing little damage. The Deathstalker slashes its pincers straight at Yang, Blake, Sun and Kassius. Kassius ducks down from the Pincer as it lunges at him. Blake pulls her Katana from the sheath holds the scabbard, duel wielding them to attack the Deathstalker with Sun with his staff. He jumps in the air and smashes it across the pincer to make it stagger. Ren and Nora both decide to challenge the other Deathstalker, charging straight at it with their weapons. Nora smashes Magnhild across its face and Ren runs up one of the sand dunes, firing Stormflower at its armour. The green rounds bounce off the armour plating and it hisses in annoyance, slamming its massive arms into the sand at Nora. Nora leaps into the air as the sand spews into the air beneath her. But she goes to smash Magnhild into the Deathstalker's head. The Deathstalker roars, spinning round with its tail and smashing it straight into her chest. Nora screams as she zooms straight past Ren and vanishes into one of the sand dunes with a muffled thumb. Ren turns and all he sees is her thumb up.

"I'm - Okay!" She slowly assures. Ren sighs with the roll of his eyes, turning his attention to the huge Deathstalker behind him. Qrow and Winter begin their fight against their Deathstalker. Qrow drops down to one knee to avoid the pincer as it goes to grab him, slashing his huge sword across the underbelly of the beast. The Deathstalker cries out, backing up to look for him. Winter forms a Glyph under her toes and she uses it to launch her body into the air to attack the beast. She floats into the sky and she lands on one of the tall dunes. The Deathstalker roars, grabbing Qrow by his ankle with its pincer, throwing him on the floor. Qrow rolls aside to avoid the massive golden stinger as it slams it down into the sand where he was. The Deathstalker does this over and over again to try and impale him. But when it lunges at him again, Winter launches a powerful ring of icicles straight into its face. The Deathstalker cries out, stumbling back from the impact.

The White Fang all turn, realising the attackers have been attracted to the battle over here. The three Deathstalkers were the attackers and now they were brought here by the vibrations in the sand. The soldiers run to their aid, firing rifles straight at the huge scorpion that is attacking Winter and Qrow. The Deathstalker spins round with a roar as it starts to attack the soldiers. One attempts to retreat but the Deathstalker plunges the stinger straight into the soldier's back, protruding out his chest as it catches him. The soldier splutters in agony as it pulls him into the air, and with force, smashes him head-first into the sand behind it, his legs sticking out from the sand. The Deathstalker continues to be distracted by the other soldiers, roaring at them. During their attack, Blake shoots her pistol into the eye of their Deathstalker as Sun uses his semblance to give her a boost, launching her into the air. The Deathstalker looks up at her and roars, thrusting the stinger straight at her with force. She performs a back-flip as she rises further and further into the sky, the sun blinding the Scorpion as it looks for her. Kassius leaps at the Deathstalker, slashing his swords across its face, cutting deep gashes into the armour. Black smoke leaks from its wound and it groans in pain. But that pain turns to anger, grabbing Kassius with both Pincers and pinning him against what looks like an ancient pillar of some kind. The pillar cracks from the impact, Kassius strains to get free from its grasp. The Deathstalker snarls as it keeps him pinned there.

Nora launches a grenade straight at her Deathstalker as it charges straight at her. The Deathstalker catches her with its pincer, pinning her into the floor with force, the pincers puncturing the sandy floor. Magnhild slides from her fingertips and she makes an auditory groan of frustration as it is too far from her reach. Her cyan eyes stare straight at the glowing gold stinger as it rises up to stab straight into her face. Her eyes widen as it rears back to attack. Until Stormflower glides across the air, spinning round and the curved bayonets slice straight through the soft membrane amongst the armour plates. The stinger is sliced and hangs by a thread, causing the Deathstalker to cry out in excruciating agony. The Deathstalker turns as it follows Stormflower, like a boomerang, returns into Ren's hand. Ren glares at the huge arachnid and it bellows at him, rushing at him with the snap of its pincers. Ren jumps from the sand dune, sliding past the monster. He lands behind it and he takes cover behind a rock. The Deathstalker looks over it but Nora smashes her Hammer into one of its legs, snapping it in half. The beast screeches in pain, turning to her and smashing its pincer at her. She lands on the sand and it turns to try and get Ren again, bashing the stinger into the sand in between his legs, causing his eyes to widen from how close it was. "Leave me alone!" Ren yells as he shoots it up the jaw. Black blood starts to pour over him and he makes a scream of disgust as he is completely covered in the stuff.

"Get away from my boyfriend!" Nora shrieks as she runs at the beast from behind, jumping and grabbing its tail, pushing it just enough to make it fall on its face. Qrow slashes the blade of his sword straight across the arm of the Deathstalker he has been fighting with the White Fang soldiers. The Deathstalker seethes at him and smashes the pincer at him. Winter provides support from above with her glyphs, like artillery. The Deathstalker snatches a White Fang Militant by his ankle, causing him to scream in terror as it drags him closer. The Deathstalker bawls, brutally stabbing its stinger into the chest of the soldier twice, so hard actually that it blasts the sand away from beneath him and makes the ground shake from each impact. The Deathstalker grabs him and throws him over its armoured body, a girlish scream echoing as he is thrown over the dune, never to be seen again. A look of complete bewilderment is on Qrow's face from how unnecessarily brutish that kill was. The Deathstalkers ten eyes lock onto the Branwen and it charges straight at him. Qrow transforms into his bird form, darting past it and returning to human form on the other side, causing it to run into the Sand Dune. The Deathstalker turns around and runs at Qrow again, so fast that Qrow has to drop to the floor, lifting his sword up to block the stinger as it comes down with force. His eyes widen from amazement that the stinger did not break the sword and he chuckles. The Deathstalker snarls as it rips the stinger back up, moving backwards, beneath Winter. Winter takes an opportunity and she jumps onto its back, splitting her Butterfly Sword in two, spinning them both though her fingers to be pointed downwards and she drives them both into the gap between two plates. The Deathstalker shrieks in pain, reaching for her and waltzing around as it tries to attack her.

Blake soars towards the Greater Deathstalker, hooking her Chained Scythe into the side of its head and yanking it back as she lands, pulling it away from Kassius, releasing him to the warm sand again. As the Deathstalker is pulled by Blake, it is pulled into the fists of both Sun and Yang, hitting it square in the face, making the shockwave ripple through its huge body. The Deathstalker grunts, and Sun smirks at it as it stands there. Kassius looks at his swords on the floor and then at a small piece of rock that hangs above the Deathstalker. He has come up with a plan. He turns to Sun. "Sun! My swords!" He shouts as he starts to run up the cliff face to get a good running jump. Sun sprints to Lash Equinox on the floor, avoiding the sharp feet of the Death Stalker as it staggers around. The sharp pronged feet sink into the sand like swords as it moves around. But finally, Sun grabs them both and he sees Kassius running to the edge, leaping off it.

"Kassius! Catch!" Sun yells, throwing them both towards him. Kassius floats across the air, reaching out with both hands to the hilts as they spin towards him. He grabs one, and then the other. He spins them both through his fingers and slams the hilts together. The lock together and they transform, the crossguard folding into the metal and the blades extend outwards. He grabs it by the middle, spinning it through his fingers in Spear-Staff form and he drives it through the skull of the Scorpion. The Scorpion howls with throes of distress, its pincers held high as Kassius pushes the blade of Lash Equinox Combined further into the head with a vicious twist. The twist kills the Deathstalker, its body falling limp to the floor with a heavy thump. The body begins to evaporate into smoke after being killed, smoke billowing up into a tower. Kassius smirks to them.

"Hell yeah." Kassius sneers. Yang rolls her eyes with a smile as he steps off the Deathstalker.

One down, two to go.

The sharp spike like feet of the other Deathstalker stamp down, the other White Fang Soldiers backing up from the huge Scorpion as it tries to kill them. The Scorpion flexes its tail back as it spins round, smashing a soldier straight in the face. Qrow's Sword folds down and the firearm sticks out, firing a blast of ammunition into the flank of the monster and it roars in pain. Winter is still riding the Deathstalker with the two swords wedged in between two plates of bone like armour, the blades scraping against them. She is trying to keep the Scorpion still so then Qrow can help take it down. She forms a Glyph as she holds on, creating her Summoned Beowulf that runs right at the monster. The Beowulf shines bright white, driving its claws into the exoskeleton, hacking the claws against the armour to do more damage. The claws scrape and scar the armour, but is does very little to the Deathstalker. She sighs, ripping her swords from the back of the Scorpion, jumping into the air and swinging her swords straight across the tail, cutting the barb off in one movement. The Deathstalker cries out, the golden barb crashing to the floor with force, the end of the tail twitching like the head of a snake. The Deathstalker grabs a soldier with its pincers and it clamours its roar, twisting the body of the screaming soldier and ripping him in half, blood spilling all over the sand. Winter nods at Qrow and she forms a glyph for him. He takes the chance, sprinting towards it with his Sword in hand, leaping onto the Glyph. She throws Qrow towards the Deathstalker and he clicks the trigger. The clockwork in his sword spins and groans to life, the pieces of metal shifting and twisting, transforming into Scythe form, gritting his teeth as he flies towards the Scorpion. The Deathstalker looks right at Qrow as he brings the Scythe down as he moves, and the Scythe slices clean through and Qrow lands behind it with his head lowered, exhausted. He turns round to the still Deathstalker, and then the body seeps into two carved clean halves that slump to the sand with a heavy thump.

Not all of the soldiers are dead, it only managed to kill three of the six that came to help. Qrow looks at Winter and she smirks, jumping down from the pillar she was stood upon. There are many ancient pillars around the sandy area and she walks up to Qrow, and uncharacteristically gives him a high five. "That's how  _proper_ huntsmen do it." Winter pants, wiping the sweat from her brow. Qrow chuckles.

"Damn right." He laughs.

Nora and Ren flee from the berserk Deathstalker that is pursuing them, effortlessly moving across the dunes as it pursues Nora, slicing the pincer through the sand. Ren jumps over a rock, and lands on another rock, shooting his two green pistols at the Deathstalker as it charges towards them. He is covered in an oily black substance, the blood of a Grimm, from when he attacked its mouth. The same stuff is leaking from its head as it runs after them, creating a trail as it runs towards him. Nora stands in front of him with a big smirk as it roars. "Eat this!" She shouts, firing her grenade launcher, and a glowing pink grenade darts right for the mouth of the bellowing Deathstalker. The grenade lands cleanly in the mouth of the Scorpion, swallowing it hole. The grenade explodes inside of its mouth, and like a cartoon, the whole beast completely pops like a balloon, chunks of bone armour plates flying into the air and a cloud of black blood expanding from the explosion. It completely covers the two of them and bits of Deathstalker fall onto the sand around them. Ren catches her as she falls over, gagging from the horrible stuff on her body. She opens her bright eyes and looks into his pale pink eyes, both covered in the horrible liquid. "We never get the easy route do we?" She giggles. Ren chuckles as he holds her.

"Easy's no fun anyway." He says to her, pressing his forehead to hers. Before they are able to kiss, they both turn to see everyone looking at them, Yang with her hands clenched and near her mouth, like she is about to explode with excitement. But the two just stand up, acting like nothing is going on.

"Hey guys!" Nora squeaks with an enthusiastic salute.

"Oh come on!" Yang groans. "Just kiss! Please!" Yang begs.

"Like this?" Nora scoffs as she gestures to the blood over her body.

"Yeah...not really fashionable." Ren groans as he flicks bits of Deathstalker from his shoulder with a repulsed look on his face.

"Wait...so does that mean you guys are together-together?" Blake asks as she stands next to Yang, crossing her arms. Nora and Ren's eyes both bulge open and they both equally start stammering out rubbish.

"Oh no! We're not...together...together...you know..." She mumbles.

Blake and Yang both share the same expression with their arms crossed and with a smirk on their faces, they are not as blind as other people are to things like these. Nora sighs, her arms falling forward.

"Okay fine! Yeah...we are." She nervously says as she scratches the back of her neck.

Yang throws her fist into the air. "Yes! I knew it!" She cheers, performing a cute little dance beside her partner who looks at her like she is a lunatic. Ren puts his arm round her shoulders and she leans her head against his shoulder.

"Good thing Jaune weren't here, he hates Scorpions." Nora giggles.

"Wherever he is." Ren sighs. They are worried about him, but they also know that he can manage himself, but as Ren said...wherever he is. They both stand there, and Ren notices the look on Kassius and Sun's faces as they look at something. At first Ren thinks it is something on him, but then he realises that it is something he is stood on.

"Ren...what is that?" Kassius questions. Nora and Ren both step off the thing that they are looking at, and a gasp emerges from Nora's lungs when she sees what they were stood on.

It is the head of an ancient sandstone statue that has been toppled over and buried in the sand. The face sticks out from the sand, the sun baking its body. Kassius walks towards it with Sun and they both crouch down beside it. Qrow walks up to them, it is much older than Mountain Glenn or Oniyuri...much, much older. They can tell from the weathering, but it was never believed that there were civilisations as strong as the new one since before the war. That was centuries, but this looks like it is thousands of years old. And now it makes sense, the old pillars sticking out of the ground like an old bone. They are also from the same time zone, probably. Kassius looks up at Qrow. "What is this thing?" He asks.

"I don't know...I've never seen anything like this that is this old before." Qrow explains. They examine in, wiping the dust off something and amazement strikes them. There are ancient hieroglyphics engraved on the cheekbone of the statue, ones that no one has ever seen before. The Deathstalker battle has uncovered something buried in the sand for so long that it has been long forgotten.

Before they can theorise anything, a voice emerges from the top of one of the untouched Sand Dunes. "They were called the Arkhoni." He speaks, a very strong and wise voice, almost Atlesian from how formal it sounds. But it also sounds metallic and computerised, but with emotion. Everyone looks in the direction they hear the voice and there is a mysterious man stood atop the dune, wearing a long tanned, sand covered and weathered, poncho around his body. Two glowing blue eyes look down at them and they can see what looks like metal legs and arms hidden inside of the poncho as the thing looks down at them. He then turns and retreats from the scene. Yang gasps.

"Wait!" Yang begs.

This could be the one that they are looking for...

...The Architect.

Not far from where they are...

Someone emerges from a sandstorm that approaches. A piece of the Deathstalker that exploded has landed here. The black blood drenching the grains of sand. A boot presses down into the sand and a large muscular hand grabs the plate, looking at it. He wears a bandanna around his mouth against the sand and he takes it off. His hazel eyes squint to look across the desert. He can see Yang and the others pursuing the strange metal poncho wearer across the sandy ground. He grits his teeth, releasing the clue, letting it fall onto the floor. Hazel turns to Cinder who stands beside him, sand stuffed in her black hair and on her face. She also wears a poncho over her black dress, as does everyone else, to survive the extremes that this place harbours. Mercury and Emerald stand on the dune, watching her run. "That's her." Emerald confirms when she sees Yang running and Hazel creates a deep growl as he reaches into his poncho, holding what looks like a the same knife that he murdered Sun's mother with, a huge jagged blade.

He tightens his grip and starts walking forward, Cinder with him and her Obsidian Blades in her hands.

They've found them.


	5. The Architect

**Yang**

The mysterious metal man sprints across the sand dunes towards the town of which they were headed, the town is constructed of Sandstone, blending into the sandy environment. He runs extremely fast, inhumanly fast, the sound of gyros and gears scraping can be heard from his running animation. His metal legs are not faltered by the deep dunes of sand, able to move through with perfect ease. The sand trails from the poncho that it wears as it runs extremely quickly. Yang slides down one of the dunes, but when she runs, she hears the voice of Winter calling to her. "Yang!" She calls as she jumps off the dune, using a Glyph to soften her descent. Yang's lilac eyes looks straight at hers. She points behind them and they see the massive plume of sand barrelling towards them like an avalanche, the Sandstorm has grown in size and is getting closer and closer. Visibility will be at a complete zero unless they get inside before it hits. "That Sandstorm is catching up with us!" She shouts.

"Then we need to move fast! That thing could be the Architect!" Yang yells, running after it as it sprints towards the town, leaping across the Barricade. Some of the soldiers are utterly bewildered as the robot passes right by them, too fast for them to aim, and they aim at Yang and the others.

"Stop right there!" The soldier yells.

"We just saved you!" Yang argues as she continues to run. The soldier opens fire, he must not have known, Yang ducks down to avoid the dust bullet and she jumps at him, kicking him in the head to simply get him out of the way. She continues to run after rolling across the floor. The Poncho Man starts clambering their way up the side of one of the sandy buildings, scraping its metal feet and fingers into the structure to hook on and get further up there. Yang pursues him, her eyes on the rooftops, the robot jumps off one building, sailing across the sky and landing on the roof of another building across the way. Ren jumps up to the building and he chases after this character, Stormflower in hand.

"We just wanna talk!" Ren yells. Yang turns a corner and there is legitimate surprise on her face. There are actually civilians harboured here, wearing the same kind of civilian style clothing as people in Vacuo do. But some of them have the symbols of Mistral on them, this must be yet another Refugee Camp of some kind. And the White Fang are defending it. Both Human and Faunus, which makes it even more surprising. Ren follows the figure but he jumps down into the streets, vanishing into the crowd, straight from Ren's view. Ren scours the area with his pink eyes to figure out where he went to find him, but he has blended straight into the mix of clothing and civilians, completely vanishing without a trace. He grits his teeth in frustration. "I've lost him!" Ren yells. Yang stammers in confusion, stressing out because he could be the best chance they have to find Ruby. She looks across the street though when she hears distant shouting.

All of a sudden, there is an Acolyte of Lien Grunt with an Assault Rifle in his hand, he points the rifle in the air and waves the barrel around, holding the trigger back. The rifle spills bullets from the barrel with a constant set of bangs from the muzzle, launching bullets into the sky. The abrupt gunfire freaks the civilians out and their hands raise around their lowered heads as they flee for cover. The soldiers all where unique Desert Styled armour, ponchos around their tactical gear and wearing sand-proof goggles. Yang snarls in anger when she sees the soldiers aiming their rifles at them. "Lookie what we have here, boys!" One of the soldiers cheers, he is the same Captain that was present for the deaths of Neon Katt and Flynt Coal, but Yang does not realise this yet. "Got ourselves the pretty one!" He cheers, aiming his assault rifle at her. Yang dives for cover as he fires straight at her. Yang rolls her eyes as she pumps her Ember Celica back into action. The shells load into the chambers and she lifts them up as she peers back round the corner at the soldiers that are making their positions. Her eyes widen when she sees two Seekers darting across the courtyard, their S. aimed at their location.

"Hey, can we talk about -" The soldiers immediately shoot at Yang as soon as her head sticks out a little, breaking the sandstone into little pieces, making her yelp from the sudden collection of bangs that launches the bullets at her face. "Guess not!" She squeaks. "Old fashioned way." She sighs, jumping out from cover as she fires Ember Celica at the soldiers. The soldiers take cover and the Captain throws a device straight at her. The device lands before her, a small metal object and the metal shifts, a strange piston with coils electrified emerges. Everyone else catches up with her and they are too late to retreat when the soldiers see them. The device detonates, creating a powerful electromagnetic pulse that stuns them, holding them in one position in a pained strain. It continues to keep them locked in position, making guttural sounds as they try and break free from the grip of the blue lightning forks coming from the device. The chopping sound of propellers approaches the village and Yang's eyes are the only things that can move as she sees a Helicopter arriving to the scene along with two Armoured Trucks. They set a trap here.

The Captain chuckles with a huge smirk on his face as he walks towards Yang with his Rifle held tight. Nora growls in anger, her Semblance is unable to work against this, it is some sort of electric device that is not designed the same way, it is close to electricity but is something completely new and different. This means it has no effect on her semblance, it just makes her frozen like the rest of the gang. Winter tries to move but she can't and the Captain looks right at her, taking his sunglasses off with a smirk. "Well I'll be damned...Winter Schnee." He greets as he looks at the woman who is frozen before her. He has weathered scars on his face and a couple of scars, along with a fully shaved head, covered with scars. He wears some sort of Armoured Suit that is powered with Dust. Very similar to the kind that Kassius wears, which also has malfunctioned his suit to lock up so he cannot move. "Well boys, the boss'll be happy with this. That's one Schnee, now we just have to find the  _other_ Schnee. Maybe the old man shouldn't have had so much fun in his younger days with his pretty wife." He scoffs as he walks around. "Hope he didn't here that, because someone would like to have a chat with you." He says, taking out a small spherical device that has small jets underneath it as it floats towards them. Yang watches it as it stops right in front of Winter, the reflective plates around its spherical form project images from them all, creating the holographic live image of Jacques Schnee. He holds his glass of Whiskey in his hand, a smirk on his face as he stares at his beautiful eldest daughter.

"Winter..." He greets as he holds his glass. Winter grunts and tenses where she is held by the restraint. The Helicopter hovers above them, the blast from the chopper's blades blows the sand all over the place as it hover above them, the machine gun aimed straight at them if anything happens.

"Father..." Winter greets with a scowl on her face.

"You were always the promised one." He huffs with a disappointed look in his eyes, shaking his head. Winter smirks and scoffs at him.

"You're calling me a disappointment? Look in a mirror? You are a disappointment to the Schnee Name." She growls. Jacques chuckles deeply.

"I don't think so." He says. He starts walking around the area with the device floating inside of his holographic body, his eyes focused on them all. "Well done, Captain Ridley." Jacques says to him, raising his glass to him. The Captain bows his head down to him, smirking away as he always does. So that is his name: Ridley. Yang glares at the man as he walks around, and there is a personal hatred in Blake's eyes for how he has been treating the Faunus in his business, a hate that she would happily send to him with a punch between his eyes. "Winter, where is Weiss?" He questions as he stands there, looking straight at her. Winter scoffs, shaking her head in disgust.

"Did you even know she was stabbed by Death?" She questions.

"I heard, one less loose end." Jacques says. That statement sends Winter into a storm of rage, lunging through the electrical restraints but another lightning bolt wraps round her wrist, holding her back in her place instead of attacking the hologram.

"How can you say that? She is your child!" Winter shouts.

"A child who turned against me." Jacques adds.

"You are something else, Jacques." Kassius scorns. That sentence brings Jacques' attention to him and he turns round to face him.

"Kassius Locke? I have heard stories about you..." Jacques says as he looks at him, standing right before him with a smirk.

"Good or bad?" Kassius inquires.

"Depends on the side of the coin." He says, turning from him again and walking before them all once more.

"How did you find us here? How did you know?" Nora questions, straining to get free.

"I have my sources, or did your old Crow over there miss that one?" Jacques chuckles as his eyes move over to Qrow Branwen who hangs there. Qrow grunts.

"Screw you, old man." He snarls.

"The Arkhoni Ruins across Remnant are the key, they hold the key to the problem that we are all facing." He says, walking past them all and looking at one of the ancient monumental statues with the old hieroglyphics engraved into the stone. "The key to learning how to control the Grimm." He says as he looks up at it with awe in his eyes.

"Or destroying them." Winter challenges, making his hand crunch into a fist, turning to face her.

"Damn it, Winter! Destroying the Grimm gains us nothing!" He argues.

"How about peace? Survival? Freedom?" Winter lists with a shocked smirk on her face from how ridiculous his ideals have become.

"Salem is just trying to control us. Think about it, she has been dividing us into different sections to make us fight each other. She wants to learn how to control  _our_ motives." Jacques explains as he paces back and forth before Winter.

"What the hell are you talking about, Schnee?" Qrow questions.

"I know the Knights, Qrow...I know how they think." He reveals, fuelled by his raging ego inside of his head. Yang scoffs as she listens to all of this.

"I think you've gotten a little too close to the enemy." Yang says, leading to Jacques to approach her next, walking in front of her. He recognises her immediately because she was there when Weiss tried to change her identity with Ruby and Neptune.

"Miss Xiao Long, tell me what would be more beneficial: destroying something stronger than you or learning to control it?" Jacques asks, and he does raise a good point, but one that is too insane to possibly be for the greater good. It is all for one purpose, his ego.

"Sure, but trying to control them is insane! You're doing exactly what they want!" Yang disputes. His moustache curves diagonally as he smirks menacingly at Yang.

"I could say the same of you, attempting to destroy something that cannot be beaten." Jacques states.

"At least we're fighting." Yang snarls. Jacques stares at her and he points his finger right at Yang's face with anger in his eyes.

"Don't ever question my ability to fight! I've been fighting the Grimm longer than you can imagine! And don't assume that you know me...my methods of beating the Grimm...are simply more refined than yours." Jacques says to Yang, sounding so confident in himself.

"Yeah? And what about us Faunus?" Blake questions.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Sun adds, glaring at him with his blue eyes. Jacques looks at them, and all his eyes view them as are a pair of animals. Something else that should be controlled.

"We would have far less problems if you could not argue with the rules." He states, and that triggers a rage fuelled reaction from the two Faunus Warriors, causing the soldiers to aim their rifles at them to keep them under control. Winter glares at her father with eyes filled with hatred.

"I might have believed you at one stage, but you've gone too far." Winter says to him. Ren watches the soldiers as they wait for their next batch of orders, their weapons in their hands. Seekers stood there with dust vapour leaking from their backpacks that help them move at supersonic speeds.

"Winter, you're out of your depth. There are choices coming that you'll have to make, choices you are not mentally equipped for." Jacques warns as he stands there.

"At least I'll be making them as a good person, with the right decisions in mind. Not just some puppet for Salem to play with." Winter states.

"No, there's always another way forward, humanity will always find a way, and I am the vessel that will carry us to that safe shoreline." Jacques says, taking a sip from his glass in his hand, the ice cubes clinking against one another.

"We're gonna find Ruby and Oscar, and when we do, we're gonna send the Knights back to hell." Winter says to him.

"I can't let you do that." He says to her. Jacques's hologram starts walking back to Ridley, but he stops before he leaves, looking at the restrained team members before him. "I am only going to say this once, Weiss and Ruby suffered the consequences of challenging the alliance I have forged with the Knights of Grimm. Stand down, go home and live your lives. This is your final warning." He says to them all, and Yang glares straight into his eyes with a snarling scowl.

"Go to hell." Yang growls.

"As you wish. Ridley, these individuals have information we need. Get whatever you can out of them and retrieve Target Alpha." Jacques orders as the hologram dissipates and the device lands in his hand, shutting down.

"It'd be a goddamn pleasure." Ridley smirks. Ridley fits the device into his pocket, and his dark eyes stare straight at them all, with murderous intent in them. He walks around, his eyes fixed on them. He takes a few steps forward, creating a very ominous vibe to himself as he approaches. "Now then, let's get down to business." He begins. "Winter was not the only target we were hired to collect. There is an individual in this town, one of which you know the whereabouts of. Where is he?" Ridley demands.

_Who is he talking about?_

Fear begins to rush over Yang like a plague. She does not have any idea of what he is talking about, and it is legitimately scaring her from how silent he is currently being, just walking around and staring at them. "Who the hell are you talking about?" Sun questions. Ridley glares at him when he speaks.

"Trying to defend him, as always. You were seen outside the gates with him." He says.

_The Architect!_

_They are also looking for the Architect!_

Yang stammers as she thinks of an answer and then she breathes out to calm down. "Look, we took down the Deathstalkers out there and we saw him there, that's as much as we know about him." Yang says, and she is telling the truth. But Ridley is cold and cruel. He breathes out through his lips, looking up at the scorching hot sun.

"Perhaps..." He mumbles, grabbing the grip of his holstered handgun slowly. "...I wasn't clear enough." He finishes, swiftly drawing his pistol and pressing it against Sun's thigh. He pulls the trigger, and this device has somehow managed to shut their aura down completely. The bullet erupts from the barrel and darts straight through his leg, blood spilling out, causing Sun to scream in extreme agony. Blake screams in terror as she sees the blood. The blood lands on the hot floor and Sun cries out in pain, unable to press his hand against the wound but he can feel the pain. And now he is bleeding out. Ridley nods to one of the Seekers and the Seeker nods to him. The Seeker shoots across the town and stops right next to Nora, pressing the barrel of his pistol against Nora's head, making her cyan eyes widen and a gasp emerge from her mouth. Ren's eyes burst open and he starts yelling in terror.

"No!" Ren begs. "Leave her alone!" He demands.

Ridley glares straight into Yang's eyes and she stares straight back, feeling the warm barrel against her chin and now Kassius and Qrow are yelling as well. "Get the hell away from her!" Kassius bellows.

"Take that gun away from my niece!" He shouts.

"Stop, we don't know where he is!" Ren shouts, trying to stop the Seeker from pulling the trigger, and Nora is shaking in fear.

"Ren..." Nora whimpers in fear as the Seeker glares at her through the glowing red visors of his helmet, no emotion showed in the metal mask.

Ridley glares into Yang's eyes as he stands there. "Clear enough now?" Ridley asks, raising an eyebrow as he pushes the gun up, pulling the hammer back to load a fresh bullet into the chamber. Yang grits her teeth in anger, and there is pure rage flowing into the eyes of Kassius right now, his cybernetic hand shrieking as he tries to free himself from the grip of the device. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again, where is he?" Ridley demands.

"Who?" Yang begs, since now she has realised that they know more than they do.

"We have been following this guy since Mistral fell, you know something." He says with furious eyes.

"Ren...I'll always be there for you." Nora promises with a gentle smile.

"You're gonna be fine!" Ren states. "Put the gun down!" Ren shouts, breaking his voice in the process as he begs. The Seeker fires the gun right next to her face, scaring her further. Yang shudders from the gunshot, and her eyes have not left Ridley's.

"Ten seconds." He counts down, and he will pull the trigger if she does not get an answer.

"Look, I swear to the gods! I have no idea of who this guy is! We were here to find someone called the Architect and we had a hunch it was him, but we lost him in the crowd!" Yang explains, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she is terrified of losing Nora to this madman. But even from telling him the full truth now, he is still not buying it.

"Five seconds." He coldly says, expression still the same.

Inside of a building nearby, the civilians watch in terror as they witness this all in the making as Yang starts screaming, begging him not to shoot her. "I'm telling the truth!" Yang argues. One man stands in the crowd, the hood up and the poncho blowing in the wind. He stands there and the glimmer of a blade sticks out from the poncho and he slowly turns his head when hearing this screaming voice.

"Get away from Nora, right now!" Ren erupts with protective rage. He stops walking away, looking over his shoulder and stepping into the light. His blue eyes fix on them, realising who is in trouble here. His messy blonde hair has sand stuck in it and he has bruises and scratches on his face, bags under his eyes from the amount of time he has lost sleep for. He lifts the sword from the poncho that he has been hidden inside of, the light gleaming upon the blade. He grits his teeth as he scowls at the mercenaries as they threaten them.

"Re-en!" Nora cries in fear.

The boy stares at them.

It could only be him.

"That's it." Ridley sighs, turning to the Seeker, nodding. "Kill her." He orders.

Suddenly the man leaps through the crowd, tearing the poncho from his black hoodie and he swings Crocea Mors straight across the head of a soldier that had his back to him. It's Jaune! Jaune slices the blade straight across his neck, killing him and he blocks the gunfire from another soldier that shoots at him. The bullets ricochet off his shield and he spins round with his sword, slicing it across his chest with force. "Here I am!" Jaune yells with rage. "No one messes with my team!" He screams. Jaune smashes his shield across the face of a soldier and he charges right at Ridley as he turns his head, but not his gun, still pointed at Yang's face. Jaune caterwaul's as he brings the blade of Crocea Mors down across his elbow, slicing clean through Ridley's arm and blood erupts out, splattering against the side of Yang's face, and she is still for a second from shock. Ridley screams in agony grabbing his bleeding stump in pain, staggering away from Yang, his gun and hand landing on the floor, retreating into the dark. Jaune smashes the blade into the device that restrains them and the electrical field deactivates.

Ren takes his chance, spinning round and punching the Seeker in the side of the head with force. The Seeker fires the gun, and the bullet flies right past Nora's head and into a window. Ren punches the Seeker over and over in the chest and performs an incredible roundhouse kick as he jumps up in the air, nearly smashing the helmet apart. The Seeker staggers back but then the backpack blasts to life, orange dust trailing from the exhausts so then he can dart off, leaving a trail, suddenly the soldier is across the courtyard from them. Yang grits her teeth, pumping Ember Celica and she turns to face a soldier behind her, firing the shotgun into the side of his face, sending him airborne from the impact. Kassius throws Lash Equinox whilst in spear form straight into the chest of an unaware Seeker, stabbing straight through the armour and blowing the backpack up. Kassius runs at the Seeker and grabs his weapon, ripping it from its chest. Sun collapses to the floor and he lips aside, into Blake's arms. "Just a scratch!" Sun assures.

Jaune turns to Yang as he protects them from the bullets. "Yang! They're gonna kill you all! Get out of here!" Jaune orders. They all start to flee from the centre of the town, Jaune running with them, pointing to something ahead of them, rolling forward to avoid the missile of the Helicopter behind them.

Qrow looks up at one of the building, and to their horror, they see the dark hooded assassin appear from thin air, the camouflage tech wearing off as she aims her Rifle at Jaune as he runs, firing a bullet straight at him, but the bullet lands in front of his feet, enabling him to roll out of the way and he starts running through the streets. The Onyx Phantom lifts her rifle back to her back, the magnetic strips in the armour latching the rifle onto her spine. She starts sprinting after him, running across the rooftops to chase after him. Jaune takes a different path to the others to escape, and the rest are running down the streets. Qrow spins round when he sees a Seeker darting behind them, pulling and holding the trigger of his Sub-Machine Gun back, unleashing a rapid fire of bullets at them from behind. Qrow spins his sword round to block the bullets from the others. He then folds the sword down, launching a shell at the soldier, but the Seeker darts away in time, the explosion landing where he was stood. Qrow stares at the Seeker as he retreats.

Ridley staggers, a medic has wrapped some medical gauze around his stump and he is barely able to stay conscious, using the medic's shoulder as a support. "Kill them." Ridley orders.

"Which ones?" He asks.

"All of them!" He demands.

"What about the Schnee girl?" The medic asks. Ridley grabs the medic by the throat, glaring straight into his eyes.

"All of them!" He repeats with a thunderous voice.

Yang runs at the tip of the group whilst Sun limps with Blake helping him run as best as he can, blood leaking from the bullet wound that Ridley gave him. The blonde girl turns a corner to see another Seeker zooming before them, orange dust acting as a trail of where they have been. He stands behind cover and fires his weapon at them. Yang fires a rocket straight at the soldier, but he darts to another area of cover where the rocket can do little damage to him. "Keep moving!" Yang demands. They start running as fast as they can to get out of the city, and as they run they see other White Fang stood inside, firing their weapons at the Acolytes of Lien. They all stop as they see a house explode, a Juggernaut-Class Soldier erupts through and smashes his shield down onto the body of a White Fang Militant, crushing him into the floor like a bug being swatted with a slipper. The Juggernaut's Chaingun starts spinning to life and he sprays a cyclone of bullets into the soldiers, shredding them into little pieces. The eight foot armoured soldier stands tall, made huge from the suit of armour.

"Find the targets!" The Juggernaut orders, his voice transformed into a metallic growl, similar to the Seekers that have voice changers in their helmets. The Grunts however do not have such disguisers in their armour. Grunts leap onto rooftops, using the jetpacks that they have worn or the thrusters in their boots. Yang takes cover as the Juggernaut stands tall, the two red eye visors looking around to search for them. She stops everyone and they all hide in the alleyway as he approaches. They all hide behind the same dumpster as he approaches, Blake holds her hands against the wound on Sun's leg. The Juggernaut is getting closer and Yang can see the three long glowing orange barrels of the Chaingun right by her head, still hot from when it was just firing. She can see the head right next to her and before he turns, he hears something behind him. As he turns, there is a similar backpack to the Seekers, but this seems to be more like a Power Conduit to the armour. Destroying that might be the key to taking that guy down. Yang turns around to see who is ready and they all except for Sun are, since his leg is busted from the gun.

"We can take him, aim for the back." Yang whispers. Nora smirks, recovered from that traumatic moment when she thought that the Seeker was going to shoot her in the head, holding Magnhild tight in her hand. Kassius smiles and he walks out with Yang first, running towards the Juggernaut. They both fire their gauntlets at the Juggernaut, sparks erupt from the conduit, like an explosive charge going off. The Pilot yells in pain, staggering forward and he spins round as Kassius goes to stab his sword into it, but the barrels smash into him, throwing him into a pile of crates in the corner, blowing them all apart from the impact. The Juggernaut lifts the shield up to protect his body from the bullets of Stormflower, the green rounds bounce off the shield. Blake remains with Sun, keeping him safe, shooting her magnum at any soldiers that enter the alley where they are. Even Sun is stood up, leant against the wall, detaching the two halves of the Ruyi Jingu Bang and blasting shrapnel into any Grunts that come their way.

The Juggernaut spins the three long barrels round again with a mechanical whirring sound that builds up and up until the fire erupts from the, launching a barrage of lethal bullets at his enemies. Yang sprints as fast as she can to take cover. Winter darts across the courtyard, using her glyphs to shoot across the area, the bullets chasing her as she darts behind it. She jumps at the conduit and drives her sword into the spine of the suit, sparks erupting from the impact and a metallic scream of pain coming out as well. The soldier staggers forward, turning round. The shoulders of the Juggernaut open, revealing a pair of Swarmer Missile Launchers that aim at her, firing ten tiny rockets towards her that chase her. She runs as fast as she can to escape them, some explode against the floor and some in front of her. She turns round, forming glyphs that explode before her as she blocks them. The fiery clouds erupt around her as she protects herself from the Juggernaut. Qrow spins his sword round, deflecting the bullets of the Chaingun back into the Juggernaut's armour, breaking plates of metal off. The Juggernaut smashes the shield at him, but he jumps into the air and slices his sword across the armour, sparks erupting from the wound. Yang launches rockets towards the Juggernaut whilst she runs, the explosions cause the huge metal beast to stagger backwards from the impacts and he charges at Yang.

But the Juggernaut does not notice Nora running at him from behind, Kassius gets into position with his hands cupped together so she can jump onto them. He launches her into the air and she twirls around like a ballerina. She giggles with excitement as she rises into the sky, the wind rushing around her as she feels weightless, plummeting back to Remnant. She lifts the hammer above her head, cheering as she smashes it into the Power Conduit with all of her might. She lands behind it after making her impact. The conduit explodes and the suit begins to malfunction, sparks and flames erupting through the metal. The body staggers and twitches with a panicking pilot trapped inside. The armour starts to explode, arms held out and the arms explode one by one and finally the whole body explodes in a huge pulse of fire and electrical energy, smoke rising into the sky and the boom echoes across the desert.

Nora throws her fist into the air. "Yeah!" She cheers.

Blake helps Sun back up and they continue to run as fast as they can to get away from the Acolytes of Lien, and hopefully to find the Architect along the way. They run and run, but then they hear the grunting and combat on the rooftop above them. Yang looks up when she sees a roof tile plummeting down right beside her. She sees Jaune clambering up the side of a building and on a roof lower down is the Onyx Phantom. She aims her Chrome Revolver at him as he climbs, pulling the trigger and the explosive bullet blows the sandstone work apart underneath him as he avoids her. The Onyx Phantom launches her body up the side of the building, and Jaune picks up Crocea Mors, blocking the impact of her sword as she swings it straight at him. Jaune smashes the blade across her cheek, cutting the skin, blood leaking from the wound and a faint coloured aura repairs the damage. Her eyes narrow and she pursues Jaune, tackling him through a sandstone chimney, grunting as she rolls across the floor, her voice transformed into some sort of metallic voice. Jaune gets up and sheathes his sword as he runs, looking back at her as she fires her Revolver at him as he runs. Jaune jumps and lands narrowly on the building, clambering up.

Yang looks forward with a gasp, seeing more soldiers in front of them. Whilst Jaune fights the Onyx Phantom above them, Yang runs at the two Grunts ahead of them and she jumps at them, kicking them both in the head and knocking them onto the floor. She turns, eyes widen when a soldier aims his rifle at her. But then a shotgun blast hits him in the side of the head, killing him instantly, blood splattering against the wall. She turns and sees Sun holding Jingu Bang up, winking at her. Yang winks back and then turns around. A vehicle shows up to fight them, a couple Mercs with rifles aimed at them to put them down. Jaune punches the Onyx Phantom in the side of the head and he takes the chance, grabbing a hook from a crane and smashing it into her armour, kicking her off the roof. She plummets down and the hook and cable tighten, hanging her from the roof and she grunts through her mask in pain, grabbing the cable, struggling to pull it out from her shoulder. Jaune's attention turns to the others, seeing the soldiers. "Yang!" He calls, he sprints across the roof and he jumps down, driving his sword into the sternum of one soldier and then spins round, taking out the second soldier.

He looks at then and nods. "Where have you been?" Nora asks with an amazed voice.

"Tell you later!" Jaune says.

They all turn and they see the Helicopter that was watching them return, aiming the machine guns at them. The helicopter prepares to fire, but suddenly the Poncho-Wearing man returns, leaping at the helicopter and slamming a blade straight into the tail, causing it to spin out of control. The man presses a gun to the rotor blade and fires a dust round into it, blowing it apart and causing fire to erupt from it as it spins and spins out of control. The man pushes his metal legs against the helicopter, launching back and landing before them all with grace. The Helicopter spins and crashes into the ground in a fiery explosion. He looks at them, shadows still concealing his face but a pair of glowing blue eyes look upon them. Yang looks at him, this is the best possible time for answers.

"Well...you have proved yourselves to be just who he is looking for." The person says, the same metallic and deep, commanding voice as always. Yang takes a step forward.

"Are you the Architect?" She asks.

The man takes his hands out from the poncho, revealing completely metal arms and hands that grab the dusty hood and pulls it back. The person is not human at all, it is some sort of Robot, nothing like Penny or the Atlesian Knights however. This is...older...steel metal plates and is quite compact, intricate pieces of metal making up the head structure, no mouth like a human. But fully functioning eyes that glow bright blue with black and gold plates surrounding the body of this machine. The clockwork inside moves around as he moves, looking at them. Kassius walks around the machine. There are two cogs on the side of his head that must make the mouth area move when he speaks. He is a machine, just unlike any they have seen before. And yet he has a personality like Penny, she was allegedly the first machine to have a soul. "I am indeed." The Architect announces, very proud of his name, clearly. The Architect politely bows forward like a butler, waving his hand to them. "You have managed to save this town and most of the occupants from this infestation, the Mercenaries have retreated. The White Fang now have control of the Village once more. Seems Miss Branwen keeps up to her word." He says with amazement.

"Do you protect this place?" Blake asks.

"No, I was assisting your friend here. I found him outside of Mistral, pursued by Grimm. My master has need of his abilities, along with a certain other Rose." He says. Yang's eyes widen in amazement when he mentions the word Rose.

"Ruby?" Yang asks. The Architect takes a step closer, looking her in the eyes.

"You know of the Silver Eyed One?" He inquires.

"She's my little sister." Yang answers.

"Is she with you right now?" The Architect asks her, the pieces of metal moving independently as he speaks, tilting his metal head as he speaks.

"No...she was captured by Death, brought to Salem." Yang answers.

"I see..." The Architect says. "Then that complicates things." He sighs, scratching his metal chin.

"Who are you talking about?" Ren asks. "You keep on mentioning a  _master_." He points out curiously. The Architect takes a step back and Kassius is more...untrustworthy than the others.

"I will explain everything if you would kindly come with me." The Architect says, offering his hand to Yang.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Kassius questions, pushing his shoulder. The Architect abruptly grabs his metal finger forcefully.

" _Don't_  kill the messenger, or the messenger will kill  _you_." He threatens, twisting his finger all the way around, breaking the metal finger, sparks leaking from damaged wiring. Kassius' eyes widen in pain and the Architect pushes him away, causing him to fall onto his back. He grabs his metal finger and lets it all out.

"Ow!" Kassius wails.

Yang giggles a little at how he managed that and Jaune stands there, he clearly does trust him. Perhaps he was telling the truth. They look at the Onyx Phantom who is still dangling on the roof, dropped her guns onto the ground and is still trying to get free. "Now then, these circumstances have intertwined with your mission now. If you wish to save your sister, you will follow me." The Architect says to them all.

"What, just run off with some crazy ninja robot?" Sun questions.

"The people here are safe now, the individual up there has failed and will retreat, I have already foreseen it. Only if you join me now. Your sister is more important than you can possibly imagine." The Architect announces. Yang's eyes widen upon hearing him say that, Kassius gets up slowly, fixing his finger by pushing the plates back into place, flexing it into position. "All of you are needed, ma'am, urgently." The Architect states to Yang, his optics looking at her lilac organic eyes. "My master has a fond habit of repeating this certain statement:  _no matter how long you may live, there comes a moment in all our lives where the whole purpose of our existence comes down to just one moment_." He explains, his educative voice speaking further.

"We need to tell Raven, Weiss and Neptune." Blake points out.

The Architect waves his metal hand, and to their amazement, the same form of portal that Raven can form appears behind him, but this one does not have darkness, it is clear, and they can see Weiss and Neptune reacting as they see it open. "Let us collect them, and be on our way." He says.

**The Onyx Phantom**

She finally rips the hook from her shoulder, falling from where she hanged and landing on the roof of a different building with a heavy thud. Her orange eyes watch the movements of them as they all vanish into the portal. She yells in anger, punching the floor and using her telekinetic powers to throw a chunk of concrete across the street, exploding against a wall. She turns around, stressed from her failure to kill her target, and when she turns, she sees Hazel, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald stood there, looking at her. "Where are they?" Hazel interrogates. Her eyes narrow and she stands tall, point at where the portal closes up after they leave. Cinder clenches her hand into a fist.

"I'm getting really tired of missing all the good fights." He huffs, dropping his shoulders.

"Shut up." Emerald whispers and Hazel gives him a stern look.

"It doesn't matter." Hazel states. "They will resurface." Hazel assures.

"That's not the problem." Cinder sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"What is the problem?" He asks.

"What does Salem do to the people who fail?" She asks him. He pauses and then she shows him the scarred hand print on her chest. Hazel walks over to her and he gently pats her shoulder.

"We haven't failed." He assures. "She never expects her people to come back unless if their mission is complete. So we will stay out here until we find them." Hazel says.

"So where do we start?" Mercury asks. He looks down at the floor and crouches down, seeing some splatters of blood on the floor, he touches it, looking at it on his fingerprint.

"Start by following the trail." He states, looking upwards.


	6. A Man Of His Word

**Hazel**

The sun begins to set behind the dunes of Mistral's small Desert. The sandstorm has passed, consuming most of the landscape, civilians cleaning the dust from their town as they prepare for the cold wintry nights of the desert. But the five minions of Salem remain out in the dunes, walking aimlessly, treading through thick layers of grainy sand to figure out where they should go. It is still incredibly hot, but soon it will be as cold as the Atlesian Mountains if they do not prepare a fire and get some food into their empty bellies. Mercury wipes the sweat from his eyes and Emerald exhales, whipping her green hair back so then she can see more clearly. Sweat beading from her dark complexion. "Where are we going?" She asks Hazel as he continues to walk, the Onyx Phantom is still with them but she as always refuses to speak. She keeps on walking but he eventually stops to turn to her.

"The Hyperborean Nightfall is coming soon, we need to find shelter and make a fire." Hazel reports.

"And some food..." Mercury complains, holding his stomach with his hand.

Cinder's eye focuses on something in the distance, through the mirage that sambas across the dunes. Some sort of large reptilian animal, not a Creature of Grimm, just some form of wildlife. She forms her Obsidian Bow in her hand, the arrow forming between her fingers and she aims at the creature in the distance. It looks like a reptilian cow with a lizard's head, large fat body with a set of humps across its back. She aims carefully, and she eventually releases and launches the arrow across the dunes. The arrow cuts through slivers of sand that blow in the wind from the past Sandstorm and the arrow takes an impact in the side of the creature's neck, nearly killing it humanely and instantly, its body crumbling to the floor with crimson blood leaking from its wound, laying there. It groans in pain, laying there. "There's dinner." Cinder says.

The Onyx Phantom stops and looks at them and Hazel smiles slightly when he sees how good of a shot it was. "Nice shot!" Emerald compliments with a smile, and there is a real friendly smile on Cinder's face, one that Hazel and the Onyx Phantom notice. But they have different responses. The eyes of the Onyx Phantom narrow grudgingly as she walks away from them. But Hazel still smiles, as he is not free from emotion. It is clear that there is still some element of good in him.

"We still need to find some shelter." Hazel points out and as the Onyx Phantom walks up a hill, she aims through the scope of her Sniper Rifle, spotting something in the distance. They are in luck. There is a distant structure buried into a cliff face that is nearly buried into the dunes, but is still accessible. Some sort of prehistoric structure that has been forgotten, perhaps unveiled by the Sandstorm. They have seen some dead trees sticking out of the sand, the wood is dry enough to make a fire with. She points at it to Hazel and he walks up beside her, looking at the structure. he nods his head up and down. "That'll do for the night." He says to her, walking past her as he approaches the carcass of the creature that Cinder managed to take down.

He approaches it, still alive and groaning in agony. Cinder walks with him as he approaches it, its blood has soaked into the sand. He crouches down beside the creature and he gently strokes his hand across the rough scaly skin of the creature and it whimpers. Cinder looks at its pain, and for whatever reason, she actually feels guilt for not making a better shot. "I'm sorry that this has had to happen to you." Hazel gently says as he calms the creature down, gently removing the arrow from its neck. It is still alive and in pain, though. So he reaches into his coat and he pulls the same jagged blade that he killed Sun's mother with from it. He closes his eyes and Cinder closes her eye to not look. "Sleep well amongst the Infinite and the Unbound." Hazel mumbles, pushing the metal blade onto its heart, ending its suffering, the body becoming loose and lifeless. Blood drips from the blade, pulling it from the scales and he sighs, looking upon it. Cinder can see the hate of killing in the man's eyes, he does not enjoy killing. But he must do it.

Cinder seems to be understanding what that feels like now.

Ever since the death of Amber and the Fall of Beacon...

She is becoming more like her...

And Pyrrha.

Time passes and the hunters have sought refuge inside of an ancient...Arkhoni...structure, built into one of the cliffs, nearly consumed by the sand dunes that have hidden it from most of the world. They all sit inside what looks like a grand hallway, old hieroglyphics embossed into the sandstone from their previous architects. Cinder looks up at the fractured moon, they managed to acquire some firewood out there from some dead trees found along the way. Cinder lit them with her fire abilities as Fall Maiden, giving them all heat to fight the cold air that exists out there. Hyperborean Nightfall is a term given for the icy cold nights in the Deserts of Remnant, the nights are almost as cold as the arctic landscapes of Atlas, which can kill you just as easily as it could in the hot daytime. They have dragged and cut the beast up, cooking pieces of meat and handing chunks to each other. Emerald is sat on the floor and Mercury is perched up on a rock with his legs crossed. The Onyx Phantom however remains stood at the entrance with her rifle in her hand, her orange eyes staring out at the landscape. Never leaving her post, her black robes blowing in the wind under the armour plating. Her hood staying up to hide her true face. Cinder looks up at the assassin curiously but is distracted when Hazel calls her over. "Cinder, eat something." Hazel advises, cooking a chunk of flesh for her. Cinder turns, sitting down beside Emerald. They are some of the only friends she has now.

The Onyx Phantom stands there, and she slightly turns her head, her orange eyes looking at them as they converge around the fire. She stands there, but remains still, looking around for any signs of movement, or of their game. Cinder sits down and Hazel grunts with a cough, a large chunk of meat stabbed onto a stick from the creature, cooking it enough for her to eat it. "Are you feeling alright, Cinder? Pretty grizzly back there." Hazel asks as he cooks the meat.

Cinder looks at him questionably. "I'm fine...I've taken lives before, you know." She points out. His hazel coloured eyes move over to her amber ones and he chuckles.

"You have...but you haven't been coping with it well, have you?" He questions, turning the meat over as he cooks it. Cinder doesn't respond, she just looks down at the floor, wrapping her arms round her legs and he notices that she has also not been the same since...what Salem did as punishment to her. "It wasn't right, you know? What Salem did?" Hazel points out.

"Let me guess, Fury and the other Knights should have just killed me?" Cinder scoffs.

"No, that would have just sent the soul off to another young girl. Gods forbid us if it landed on that Silver Eyed Girl, she'd be even more unstoppable." He chuckles as he continues to cook it.

"Well...nothing we can do about it now...it's a part of me." She shyly says. Hazel looks over at her and he pulls his sleeve back, revealing a deep scar across it, showing it in the light of the campfire that they are all converged around. Cinder looks at the scar.

"You see that? That was given to me...by a Swordsman. He was out on the road by himself, lost his mind, tried to fight me. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. I even disarmed him and he kept on fighting me. It was at that moment that I realised the truth. Sometimes everything happens for a reason. Sometimes things will happen and there is nothing we can do to change it. Sometimes our entire life will exist to come down to just one moment." Hazel explains to Cinder, and she listens to every word that he says. "I killed him, he left me no choice, I didn't want to...that scar is a constant reminder...but I never let it change me. I will never take life unless if I have to."

"Or if Salem demands it?" Emerald asks. Hazel looks at her and he nods.

"That as well." He agrees with a firm nod. But when he looks at her, he notices that Emerald and Mercury are also suffering from some bad thoughts, from their heads bowed down and from hardly ever taking any bites from the meat cooked for them. The three of them have never been the same ever since Beacon, ever since the Knights for that matter. "Something on your mind, sweetheart?" He asks her with a tilt of his head, speaking with a very different and friendly attitude. Usually he is quite cold and does not speak much, but here he is being...almost fatherly, making sure that everyone is okay. Emerald's large red eyes look up, her mint green hair blowing slightly as a cold gust of wind travels into the cave like structure that they sheltered themselves in.

"I just can't quit thinking...about what happened to that poor little girl..." Emerald stammers, her mind is constantly on Ruby's safety.

"Now, now...you can't start developing feelings like that." Hazel begins, pointing the meat at her about three times, like a teacher who is pointing with a wooden pointer to a blackboard with information on it. Her eyes widen when he says that and she starts listening. They all do, and surprisingly, so does the Onyx Phantom. "It's not our place to think about things like that, the Brothers could have stopped that from happening unless if there was a point to it. If she dies then that has a purpose too...everything in life happens for a reason, no shame in feeling bad about things, but sometimes you have to just brush these things off." Hazel explains, the smell of cooked meat floating across their noses as he speaks. Emerald looks at the floor.

"But her eye..." She stammers, and he looks over at her. Mercury gently places his hand on her shoulder and he smiles at her.

"You had to do most of the repairs?" He asks her. Emerald nods.

"I felt like...I owed her that." She says.

"Why's that?" Hazel asks. Emerald sighs, her head dropping forward. Cinder turns her head and she listens to every word that Emerald says.

"The Knights put some things in perspective for me. And I realised that I have never truly understood friendship until I met that little girl, and I always started saying to myself... _just go home, live your life, don't get involved in this terrible stuff._ But she's resilient, more-so than me." Emerald chuckles as she sits there. "I guess - I'm just trying to say that I wish it wasn't her, she was filled with such innocence, and yeah at the time I didn't like her, but it was all before I came to..."

"Sanctuary." Mercury finishes, showing that he understands what she is feeling, taking a bite from the chewy piece of meat on the stick he holds.

"You feel guilty about what happened to her?" Hazel asks her and Mercury, and perhaps even Cinder. She is trying to avoid showing this change in personality that frightens her, but Hazel is not blind. And the Onyx Phantom is not blind either, or deaf. Emerald nods her head to him. Hazel takes his free hand, scratching his beard with his massive fingers, sliding them down his chin. "I'm gonna tell you a story about something I experienced a long time ago, around seven years ago at this point." He begins, still cooking the piece of meat for Cinder. "Salem had ordered me to meat with a contact of ours a while back and it was about the location of a Silver Eyed girl. Now I had been doing these kinds of hunts for years at this point, but low and behold I was partnered with a young Faunus boy at the time...with a scorpion tail." He tells, and they all have a similar reaction, eyes slightly widening as they realise that he is speaking about Tyrian Callows.

"Tyrian?" Mercury enjoins, leaning forward on the rock that he is perched on.

"The very same." Hazel chuckles. "He was around your age at the time, and man...he was scarier than me. Still is." He explains to them.

"How did Salem find him?" Emerald asks.

"Well, funny story." He starts off, and he turns the meat round and stands up, reaching over the dancing flames to give it to Cinder and she grabs the meat, pulling it from the skewer that he made from a tree branch. She picks it up and bites into the steak, ripping a chunk out from it. "She had heard a tip from the Seer, that there was an attack on a town. So we sent out an old member of the table who went and investigated. And on his knees amongst many dead corpses was a young boy. He killed his entire family and friends because he snapped. He has severe issues with mental breakdowns, and when he loses it he can go berserk and kill anything near him, or at least torture it. By this point he has fully lost his mind, and Salem practically raised him." Hazel explains to them all, crossing his arms. Cinder remembers when she witnessed one of Tyrian's breakdowns, and it did agitate her. Seeing how his fear of Salem lead to sorrow and then to anger and through killing something it made him insane.

"So that's why he is so loyal to her..." Mercury mumbles, understanding now.

"He has seen her as a mother, as she has managed to help him use his abilities for his own gain. But she only sees him as a tool, like she does for all of us." He admits truthfully to them. "If you hadn't figured that out by this point then you're either blind or just plain stupid." Hazel scoffs, eating some bits of the meat that he has before him. "But, anyway, we went out to the location of which we were told to find the Silver Eyed Girl, we did not know if whether or not she had already learned how to use them, so we were careful about it." Hazel narrates. "We started moving across a bridge to figure out where she is hiding and he started running forward to find her. Quite quickly, Tyrian figure out where she lived and he kicked the door down. We walked in and I saw her. She was only six years old, only a child." He explains, and there is a look of dread and grief in his hazel coloured eyes, a hint of self-hatred. "Tyrian was already lunging forward but her mother was in front of him, no sign of the father but we could presume that he was the one with the Silver Eyes instead of the mother, she had brown eyes. I looked her in the eyes and I didn't want to do it." Hazel explains, and Cinder notices that his knife is actually quite far away from him.

Emerald looks at Hazel. "Did you?" She asks. Hazel closes his eyes with shame.

"Never let such a small obstacle block your path." Hazel states, the same thing that he said to Oscar when he first met him at the train station. "I killed the mother and the girl with that knife." He says, pointing at it, without even looking at it. The three of them look at the knife and Cinder looks at him, seeing the self-hatred in him. He looks at her. "Take it from me...if you let things like that haunt you...they destroy you." Hazel says. Cinder sits there and she looks at the scar under her dress, touching it slightly with her hand. It still stings slightly from when Fury pressed his hand against it, still quite red. Hazel stands up and he walks away from them, towards the Onyx Phantom. "I'm gonna go for a walk, you should get some rest." Hazel says, leaving the four where they are. He walks off into the cold desert.

Haunted by his past.

**Yang**

The team return back to Weiss, Neptune and Raven, exiting the doorway that the Architect had created for them. They walk inside and Weiss gasps when she sees them, sitting upright and seeing them there. They are amazed that the Architect knew to come here. He walks in with them, the cogs and gears whirring as he moves his limbs, looking around the Tribe Area. The two of them are no longer trapped on their beds to be helped with due to their injuries, now they are back on their feet and looking around. But there is something off about them, the way that they are looking at them. Yang stretches her arms with a big smile on her face. "Hey guys! What'd we miss?" She asks them.

The silence...

The fear...

The horror on Weiss and Neptune's faces. Even on Raven's face.

Now things are starting to become serious. She lowers her hands and everyone starts to spread out as they look around the room. They are safe from the Knights, so Fear is not here. "Weiss? Neptune? What's going on?" She asks. Weiss picks up the tape that is on the table, and scrawled on the label is one thing.

_SUNNY LITTLE DRAGON!_

_HOME MOVIE!_

Yang looks at it and then at Weiss. "Show me." Yang requests as she gestures to the television where the tape can be inserted. Weiss stammers.

"Y-Yang..." She stutters.

"Show. It. To. Me." She slowly says, sounding more demanding and imperative this time. Weiss nods and she takes the tape and presses it through the insertion point. The television switches on.

"This was sent to us ten minutes ago, it was just at the front door." Neptune says with a shudder.

Yang's eyes are fixed on the screen, loud roars of static screech from the screen, black and white marks spraying across the screen for nearly ten seconds. And then the silence kicks in and it shows a poorly filmed video from someone. It is an older camera, with the battery life marker halfway full in the upper right hand corner and in the left is the red circle with the word  _REC_ flashing. The footage is not very clear either, some static here and there and some fuzziness. The camera is in a cell with carved marks scraped across the wall with blood stains wiped on it and it only says one thing on it.  _What happens when a Rose loses its petals?_ Yang is held in the cold dead silence and then the camera spins round to face the cameraman.

Tyrian.

Tyrian giggles maniacally as he looks into the camera, he has a split cut on the bridge of his nose where blood has been tricking down. From what looks like a punch straight to the nose and some claw marks on his face from where somebody has been fighting him with their bare hands. "The flower dies, that's the answer." He giggles wildly, his wide eyes staring straight into the lens. Yang's breath trembles in fear, and she takes a few steps closer to the camera, her hands shaking as she looks upon the screen. He tilts his head and he pouts his lips. "Is this thing on? Hey?" He mumbles. He reaches down and they hear a pained yelp when he grabs onto something and lifts it up into the view of the camera.

It's Ruby.

She has bruises and cuts across her face from whatever he has been doing to her, whatever horrific tortures she has endured. There are scrapes across her cheeks and even across her outfit, blood leaking from the wounds that he has made her endure. Tears are streaming from her silver eyes. "Does the red light mean that it's on?" He asks her. She doesn't look at him, crying from both pain and terror of the psychopath that holds her up like that. Like she is his plaything. Ruby can barely keep her eye open and Tyrian holds the camera high, looking up at it with a mad smirk on his face. Yang gasps in horror, walking straight up to the screen, her hands pressed against it. Blake's gasp of terror is with her as she stands behind Yang with Weiss on Yang's right shoulder, watching it again. Everyone watches in the background. Unable to help the pour girl. He looks at her. "Hey!" He barks extremely loudly, his voice echoing down the halls. "I asked you a question." He hisses. Ruby whimpers as she looks at the camera and at the red light.

"Ye-Yes..." She sniffles. Tyrian erupts into laughter, thrusting her down and into the floor with force, her body smashing into the cold hard floor. She yelps in pain, sliding into the wall. The camera spins back to his point of view and it points straight at her, beneath the message that he has carved into the wall. It's clear that he crouches down from how the camera is lowered onto the floor.

"Now..." He whispers, staring straight at the camera. "I want you to tell the whole world: what is your name?" He asks her, which means that this message is not just sent to Yang, it is going to be played everywhere eventually. Ruby is crying in fear, but she knows she has to answer otherwise it will just get worse and worse. Yang can see the bandage on the floor where he has ripped it off, and she can see the horrible sight of her little sister's torn open eye. But considering someone has been kind enough to help her survive the wound can give her some consolation that someone is on her side in this place. And it is definitely not this monster. She falters to speak.

"Ruby...Rose..." She weakly says, her voice is much weaker than it used to be, less of a squeak and more of a whisper in comparison. Something no older sister should have to see from their once enthusiastic and adorable sister.

"Is Professor Ozpin your hero?" Tyrian asks her with a playful tone in his giggly delivery.

"No..." Ruby whimpers and Qrow clenches his hand into a fist when he sees Tyrian torturing his daughter like this, making him want to kill Tyrian even more than he already did.

"No? No?" He interrogates, rushing forward and grabbing the metal rose clip on her hooded cape, pulling the hood and cape, or even ripping it from her damaged outfit, holding it up. "Then why do you choose to aid him?" He grills with a deep, commanding and almost feral voice. He then starts making childish, whooping and laughing sounds as he dances the hood and cape around before the camera, laughing maniacally. He then throws it on the floor as he seems to be dancing around on the spot. "I'm little red riding hood, yippee!" He blithely grates as he throws it. He then shows the metal rose to the camera and throws it straight onto the floor with force, managing to snap it in half. The same one that her mother gave her before her passing.

Destroyed in front of her.

And Yang.

And Qrow.

Qrow and Yang both have a rage induced twitch of the eye when they see that.

"He showed me that...people shouldn't have...to be...afraid of monsters like you..." Ruby snarls, but still tearful and terrified, her voice trembling as she speaks to the madman. The camera sharply turns back and Yang can see his tail brushing across his face, cracking and crunching as it moves, making her shudder and her face contorts as she begins to cry further. Aghast of whatever inhumane torments he will throw upon her next. Grabs her by the hair and starts shaking her head around furiously.

"Oh, and you aren't afraid at all are you? You're really brave!" He mocks, shaking tears from her eyes and Ruby is trying her best to not cry in front of him. Yang grits her teeth in rage when she sees how Tyrian hurts her little sister like this. She has never liked bullies, but this is something much further. He takes a few steps back, still filming Ruby on the floor. "My little flower, look at me." He gently says, and Ruby looks down still. The camera shakes, the constant cracking of internal movement from the camera shaking suddenly erupts when his voice gets more aggressive and loud, louder than it was before. "Look! At! Me!" Tyrian explodes, his voice nearly being broken from how loud it was. There is a deathly silence in the area and Ruby slowly looks at him with her only remaining silver eye, shaking in terror, tears soaking her once dry cheeks. The camera remains fixed on her and the silence seems to last forever, until the camera turns to face him once more, held high.

Yang growls in anger and Kassius' cybernetic hand clenches into a fist. Sun is ready to kill the guy and Nora holds Magnhild tight, her eyes furious from what she is looking at. Tyrian continues his message. "You see... _this_...is what comes from actions such as Ozpin's, he will sacrifice the life of an innocent little girl for his own pathetic ambition." Tyrian explains with a smirk to the camera, and Yang is nearly nose to nose with the screen right now, her hand clenched tight. "Now, I speak directly to Yang Xiao Long." Tyrian announces and Yang is staring directly into his eyes. "If you want to see your baby sister in once piece again, find Professor Ozpin and turn him in to Salem." He demands. "Oh, and every day that he is not here, her torture will get worse. Starting tonight." He says, bringing the camera close to his face. "I'm a man of my word." He promises. His smirk grows into a full screaming laugh of madness, throwing the camera on the floor and sprinting towards Ruby on the floor.

"Please! Not again!" She cries, begging him to stop as the sound of his metal blades extend.

The video ends with the paused image of him slicing the blades slowly across her cheek. Yang yells with rage, sending her fist flying through the screen, shattering it upon impact. She pants, radiating with anger, her eyes glowing hot red as she paces back and forth, pushing her fingers through her hair. The anger turns to anguish, slumping down to the floor, sobbing in the corner. Blake, Weiss and Kassius come to her aid. Qrow is too filled with anger to even move, filled with a lust to kill that Scorpion Psychopath.

The Architect stands in the corner and a sigh comes from his vocals. "I will give you some time." The Architect states. Ren looks at him and he just nods. The Architect turns, changing the location and opens a new portal. "I will return in two hours." He promises. He walks into the doorway, vanishing as it closes behind him, and he will return when they have recovered from what they have just witnessed.

Yang sits there, tears streaming from her eyes, but then her eyes turn to anger as she looks up, clenching her hands into fists.

"I will find Tyrian..." She whispers.

"And I will kill him." She growls in rage.


	7. Watch The World Burn

**Ortega**

The Admiral of his ship walks through the halls of the vessel, the night has fallen across the skies of Atlas.

He opens the door to the medical bay and he walks up to Captain Ridley who is on a medical bed. They have given him a cybernetic arm, unlike the arm that belongs to Yang, this one is more skeletal than hers, and everyone can see the internal components working away as he uses it. Each piston moving individually with every motion his fingers make as he flexes them. He looks straight at the arm with mad eyes, clenching it into a fist. Ortega stands before him, crossing his arms. "Report." He demands. Ridley is quiet at first, not uttering a word, he just lowers his arm. "Captain!" The General barks to get his attention, and Ridley just casually looks at his superior who looks pretty serious right now. "What happened down there?" He questions.

"He was there. Target Alpha." Ridley answers.

"He cut his arm off, sir." One of the soldiers says that was there, survived the battle that took place. He still wears the Seeker armour that they are given, the backpack glowing brightly.

"Those kids from Beacon were there as well. They were looking for that Bot, the Architect." He explains to Ortega and that causes the General to take a few steps around the room. Ridley remains still, waiting for his next set of orders from his superior. Ortega grabs his chin, scratching the hairs there. He sighs, turning to face him.

"Ready for combat?" He questions.

Ridley smirks, nodding. "Oh I'm ready...ready for round two." He says with certainty in his voice, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Good, I want you to start hunting them down. Track down their locations, kill them all. No survivors." He orders.

"With pleasure." Ridley responds, hopping off from his gurney and picking up his rifle, walking with his Seeker Comrade away from Ortega. Ortega remains still and then walks back to the elevator. He steps inside and places his finger against the button that sends him straight to the observation deck. The elevator rises up the column inside the huge ship until it reaches the dome at the top. He has a fairly shaken breath, closing his eyes, and then he musters his bravery, stepping into the Bio-Dome. He walks inside and he sees the entire city around him. But when he admires the city of Atlas, he shudders when he sees the darkness rising before him, swirling into an event horizon before him. He looks at the opening, being ready for who emerges. The dark armoured form steps out from the darkness, his glowing red eyes meeting his brown eyes. Death drops down from the sky, landing before him with a metallic thump, walking towards him.

"I warn you, General Ortega...our alliance is nothing more than a contract. And contracts...like all life...expires." Death threatens, his cold threatening voice echoing around him. Ortega looks up at the Knight that stands before him.

"You know, us Acolytes of Lien have a saying: the enemy of our enemy is our friend." He speaks to the ancient Knight. Death scoffs, rolling his hidden red eyes.

"Oh, Ortega...you simply fail to notice, don't you?" Death questions. "We are allies, yes...but we are far from friends, you are still my enemy for all life is." Death explains, making Ortega feel small. Ortega scoffs.

"So why do you use us then? If you are so powerful then why bother with letting us join you?" Ortega questions.

"Honesty." Death states. "I was coldly honest to you, for you are being honest with your questions and work." Death explains to him.

"Then what about what happened back at Mistral? You had them at your claws but you didn't kill them. Why?" He asks.

"Two confirmed dead from their side, one crippled and another missing. I would have finished them, but my superiors have other plans. We could have finished them in that desert but the incompetence of mortal intelligence lead you to fail, once again." Death clarifies with deep, snarling antagonisation in his voice. Ortega listens as he is being completely ruined by the words of the Knight of Death. "You promised us combat effectiveness with your mercenaries...or is there such a thing?" He judges. Ortega stares at the Knight.

"You know, you've still never told me...why are you doing this? What have you got against life?" Ortega questions.

"Every generation I have witnessed and claimed...every single one of you...are the same." Death says to him. "You all think -  _you're_ \- the final evolution of life..." Death chuckles as he shakes his head, looking up at the Fractured Moon in the sky. "You have no idea of what's coming..." He assures, turning and walking away from him.

He never fully answered Ortega's question.

**Yang**

Yang is sat down on the floor, hardly even moving, still horrified from the video that she was just shown of Tyrian torturing her little sister like that. She fiddles with her blonde hair, her lilac eyes looking back at the footage. They have it looped on when he was laughing maniacally, the sound turned off so then they can try and track him down. But they have had little to no luck with that tactic. The location is too unknown for them to get any possible hints. They need someone from the inside if they can have any hope of finding her. She turns when she sees Kassius sitting down beside her with a smile, patting her knee with his metal hand, smiling to try and brighten her day up. But as he predicted, it had no effect. He sighs. "Guess I should have expected that..." He huffs, looking down at the floor. Yang says nothing, just playing through her own ideas of how to kill Tyrian in the most painful ways to make it worth her pain.

_Burn him alive?_

_Blow him up?_

_Feed him to Beowulves?_

But before she can continue with this almost psychotic brainstorming, Kassius snaps his fingers in front of her eyes to snap her out of it, and she escapes the trance, looking at him. "Still with me?" He asks her.

"Ye-Yeah...sorry...I just can't stop thinking about Ruby." Yang stammers, and Kassius puts his arm around her shoulders. he pulls her closer to his side, smiling to her cheek as she leans her head into his shoulder.

"We will find her, I promise." He says to her, touching her chin with his thumb and lifting her head up so he can see her eyes.

"How do you know?" Yang asks him.

"I've got a good feeling." Kassius promises.

"What about Mistral? Our luck hasn't been the best." Yang says.

"Well..." He says, clearly referencing her uncle, and she immediately notices that.

"Oh, come on." She says with disgust, standing up.

"No, I didn't mean..." He groans, standing up to follow her.

"Yeah, his semblance is that he is literally a bad luck charm - but that doesn't mean that he did this." She argues.

"I know, I'm just saying that there is a coincidence. You heard what he said, there's a reason for a why he stays away from friends and family because he does not want to get them hurt because of his semblance." He explains to her, and for a second he looks away. "I know how that feels." He sighs. Yang closes her eyes and she leans against a door, looking over at Blake, Sun and Neptune making some plans to figure out where in the world they could find him. Remnant's a big place, time to start making it smaller. But she notices that she cannot see Qrow anywhere, and yet she still has no idea that he is her dad, she still knows that he must be hurting.

"I'm gonna go get some fresh air." Yang says to Kassius. He turns and grabs the bridge of his nose, feeling like he shouldn't have said that. Yang walks away from him and towards the balcony of the building that has an opening from the cave. And before she steps out, she finds her quarry. Already there is Qrow, holding his canteen filled with Whiskey in his hand. He just stares out into the landscape emotionlessly. Thinking and plotting...wanting to find his daughter. She shyly walks over to his side, leaning across the concrete railing that looks out across the other side of the mountain. A beautiful lake lays there, light reflecting off the surface of it. They both look out, and Yang feels like she needs to be the one to start a conversation with him here. "Uncle Qrow? How are you holding up?" Yang asks. A drunk chuckle emerges from Qrow and he simply holds his canteen up as a symbol of how he is feeling, jiggling it around.

"Other than...learning that someone you love dearly is in the hands of a lunatic? Yeah, I'm peachy." Qrow chuckles, taking another swig. Yang reaches for the canteen to take it from his hand, but Qrow yanks his arm up and pushes her away. "No!" He shouts.

"Getting drunk isn't gonna help her? Isn't gonna help anyone!" Yang argues.

"Do you seriously not get it, Yang?" Qrow slurs, holding his arms out. Despite that he is drunk, he is being quite serious with her here. Winter walks through and she touches her hand against the architecture, listening to Qrow. There is a bond between these two, something that they both hold very close. And Yang starts listening. "I made a promise to her mother...it's my fault that Summer died...my goddamn semblance got her killed! I promised her that I would keep her baby safe, and that I would keep you safe." Qrow explains to her, nearly mentioning the fact that he is the real father of her sister, and that they are actually cousins. But Yang does not interrupt him, she just keeps on listening. "And look where that's gotten us!" He laughs in his drunken state. "She's in the hands of a monster and there's nothing I can do about it! You've lost your arm and nearly your life..." He says, his anger descending into a quiet whisper.

He yells in anger, throwing his canteen onto the floor with force, causing it to bounce into the air and then land on the ground, sliding across the floor. He grabs the bridge of his nose, sighing through his mouth as he leans against the wall. "I promised I would keep Ruby safe and I let that psychopath capture her and throw her straight into Salem's arms." Qrow snarls in anger at himself.

"So did I..." Yang sighs.

"No." Qrow immediately denies.

"So you feel you are the only one responsible?" Yang scoffs.

"My semblance caused it!" He argues.

"Oh, that's a load of crap, Uncle Qrow." Yang sighs, pacing around the balcony. "You didn't get her killed."

"If I wasn't there, she would be alive right now." He states.

"It's your fault, it's nobody's fault? Who cares? All we need to worry about right now is the plan of how to get her back." Yang explains.

"I know, and I'm thinking." Qrow sighs.

"I knew that there would be consequences for getting on their radar the way we have...but this is different...Tyrian has made it personal." Yang explains, crossing her arms as she looks at the looping footage of Tyrian on the screen where everyone is working out how to find him. Qrow looks at her, like he has immediately managed to shake off his drunken side.

"Well we didn't really help ourselves, did we? We kept on challenging them, from Torchwick to Cinder and now Salem, we have made ourselves become enemies of those who are much stronger and we have been showing that we are a threat to be reckoned with. And in that fear, they have gone and turned to a man that they don't even understand." Qrow explains to her, looking at Tyrian, the footage has now changed to when he was making his demands, and they have slowed it down to analyse the background.

Yang shakes her head. "No, murderers like him aren't complicated, Qrow. We just need to find out what he wants, why he wants to hurt her." Yang explains, walking around the area. Qrow starts to snap out of this state that he has been in and he looks at her.

"Perhaps, firecracker, this is a man that  _you_ don't fully understand." Qrow begins. "You haven't been out there like Ruby, you only met him recently." He begins, walking towards her. "The only types of people you have met are the ones that want something in return, but not everyone is like that in the world." Qrow explains.

Yang stops, leaning against the wall, Winter stood behind her on the other side of the wall, listening to Qrow's abrasive voice as he speaks. "Back when Team S.T.R.Q where starting out, old Oz had set us a mission where we had to shadow a Huntsman to investigate a group of murders that took place in Vale, messy business. Some nasty bodies were discovered." Qrow begins to explain, walking up to Yang. "Each one had the same marks, same stab wounds as each other, so Tai decided that it was our best possible lead, we took the names of the victims and we started to search the area for possible clues. We searched the whole town and in three weeks, we never found anyone who knew the people who were murdered. No clues, nothing." Qrow explains.

Yang crosses her arms as her Uncle approaches her. "Until one day, I saw a little girl with the same complexions of a woman we found in her house, murdered by our suspect. She looked at us and she screamed, running away from us. We all thought that she was scared of  _us_...until the Huntsman faced us and he said:  _I guess I missed one_." Qrow explains to her, causing Yang's eyes to widen. "The murderer, was the Huntsman all along." Qrow reveals. "He fought us and won, and he escaped." Qrow concludes. Utterly bewildered, Yang needs to ask one simple question.

"Why did he do it?" Yang asks.

"Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men, aren't looking for anything logical like money, fame or even vengeance. They can't be bought, reasoned or negotiated with." Qrow explains, and Yang stares straight at the screen with Tyrian's face on it, speaking straight at the camera frame by frame. "Some men...just want to watch the world burn." Qrow tells her. Yang listens to his advice and she immediately knows that that is the type of person that they are dealing with. A monster. She looks at him, now he is laughing at the camera maniacally, a sight that would haunt most individuals.

No matter how much combat you've seen.

**Weiss**

Weiss looks at them as they are trying to point out possible locations of which Tyrian could be holding Ruby and Oscar. She then turns when she sees Jaune cleaning the blood from the blade of Crocea Mors and she walks towards him, holding her arm gently as she walks up to him. Despite everything that happened, she has not really had much time to speak to Jaune since Beacon. Everything has been causing things to be nearly impossible for socialisation. "Hey, Jaune." She gently greets, and he looks up at her.

"Hey." He replies, putting the cloth down on the table, sitting down on it. Weiss sits down on the chair and she sighs. "How are you doing? The last I saw of you...Death stabbed you." Jaune explains to her, stammering as he remembers.

"It was close...I don't remember all of it." Weiss explains with a nervous tone in her voice. Jaune looks at her as she sits in front of him and he puts the sword down on the table next to him, running his fingers along the blade of his weapon. Weiss stammers as she sits there. She has something on her mind, something that has been eating away at her since the Fall of Beacon. And Jaune picks up on that pretty quickly. "I'm...so sorry, Jaune." She apologises, and Jaune looks at her with a quizzical expression.

"Sorry?" Jaune asks with a chuckle, crouching down beside her. Weiss wipes a tear from her eye and she looks at him.

"We didn't get to her in time..." Weiss says, and Jaune immediately realises that it is about Pyrrha. Ruby and Weiss both went to the Tower to try and help her but they were both too late, and she has been feeling partially responsible for their failure to save her because of what happened, because she feels she could have gotten Ruby up to the top of the tower earlier. Jaune shakes his head and he sits down next to her, crossing one leg over the other.

"Nope, I don't believe that." Jaune says, leaning backwards into his chair. Weiss looks at him with a confused countenance.

"Huh?" Weiss quietly questions as she looks at him.

"I don't believe that." He says. "You tried your best, it was better than nothing. And there was nothing we could have done, we all saw how powerful Cinder became. I just wish she would have told me why she did it...instead of making me feel like the cat in the tree that always needs help with getting back down." He sighs, pressing his hand to his head. Weiss looks at him, and she will never be able to look at him the same way again after the way she treated him back at Beacon. Yeah he was being stupid with how blind he was around Pyrrha, but she was extra cold to him, treated him like he wasn't actually her friend at all, which can really sting to some people.

"I wish I wasn't so much of a brat." She huffs and Jaune looks at her with an amazed expression.

"Wow...Weiss Schnee admitting that  _she_ is the brat?" Jaune chuckles with a smirk.

"Oh, you know what I mean." She brushes off with a smile. Jaune laughs a little with her, but then she looks over at him. "If I could go back in time and change one thing about myself...I honestly would just say:  _just give him a chance!_ " Weiss giggles, waving her hand metaphorically as if she is speaking to someone in front of her. Jaune's eyes look over to her and he scoffs.

"So you finally admit you  _were_ attracted to me?" Jaune teases.

"Hey! Don't put words in my mouth!" Weiss squeaks. Weiss sits there and she looks at Myrtenaster on the floor, she has been carrying that sword around with her everywhere she goes, just in case. She closes her ice blue eyes as she thinks in her head. "Jaune..." She begins.

"Hmm?" He responds.

"What happened to her?" Weiss asks him, speaking about Ruby. Since he was the only one who actually saw what happened to her. Jaune looks down at the floor, and her bringing up how she wished she was less mean is obviously also being targeted towards how she treated Ruby at times. She always meant well but it never came across that way. Jaune looks back through his memories to the moment when he lost her.

"She was right in front of me when he did it. She was shell-shocked and I tried to get her out of there." Jaune explains to her. "But when I tried to hurry her along, I saw the arrow go right past my face, I could see my own reflection in it...and she darted off into petals but the arrow had blood on it. It grazed her but it was enough to do serious damage." Jaune explains, and Weiss covers her gasping lips with grief. "I tried to get her and myself out but the Knights sent a horde of Grimm after us. I hid her and I lured them off. It worked and I thought I was gonna die...I lost the sash I made to remember Pyrrha by and Fury was gonna kill me..." He explains. "That's when he saved me, the Architect. He was there and he used some sort of pulse that created a field around us, and he teleported us to safety." Jaune explains.

"He saved you?" Weiss asks with amazement.

"Yeah...I tried to ask him to save Ruby but by the time we got back she was already gone. I haven't met his master but he said that we needed to help that small colony. He is nearby in that desert, I think it is an old Schnee Dust Company location, one that your grandfather founded." He explains to her and Weiss tries to remember.

"You're right! There is one there, during the early days." She remembers.

"He told us to go there and make sure that the civilians were safe because he knew the Grimm and the Acolytes would show up. Maybe he knew you would find us there as well." Jaune chuckles.

"Maybe..." Weiss agrees as she sits beside him. Since she was hallucinating when Qrow was carrying her to safety, most of the end of that battle is forgotten, but it is probably best if she doesn't know all the details. Jaune looks at her and he pats her shoulder.

"We're gonna find her." He promises.

"I know we will." She agrees with a smile.

**Blake**

She draws a pencil across the map, circling different parts of the map of Remnant, so many different areas of which that could come in handy. Raven is stood there as well, crouching down to look over what they are doing. Her long black hair blows in the gentle draft that comes from the openings in the walls where air can get inside of this fortress. Whether or not it was built by them or the Arkhoni is unknown, and this discovery of an ancient people has already started to change everything that they believed in the first place. Wouldn't be the first time that would happen, first the Maidens, then the Brothers, then the Knights and now the Arkhoni. What's next? Powerful relics, oh wait that's also been uncovered.

Sun sighs, sitting down with Neptune beside him, despite losing two of their best friends, they are still willing to help. As Sun always said, always get friends involved. That's what they are for. Blake pauses in the middle of her examination and she sighs, her black hair falling down her cheeks and her cat ears saddening down. Sun notices, looking at her affectionately. "Blake?" He quietly whispers, touching her hand, and she looks at him. He thought that she was thinking about Ruby, and she always is. But there is something else on her mind, something that she has not been able to say.

"Sun...Neptune..." She stammers as she looks at them both. The blue haired boy looks at her and Sun listens. "I'm so sorry...for what happened with Scarlet and Sage...we should have never dragged you guys into this." She apologises, looking down at the floor. Sun gets up and sits down right next to her, putting his arm round her, letting her sink against his side, closing her eyes.

"They knew the risks...always have..." Sun assures.

"Yeah, and they have said that they would give their lives if it meant that it was worth something." Neptune explains. They are both clearly hurt from it, but they don't let it control them.

"I miss them...but they wouldn't want us to give up on their behalf. They'd want us to keep going." Sun explains to her, kissing her cheek and she smiles, hugging him gently. "And we're gonna find Ruby, I promise." He says to her, stroking his hand down her soft black hair. Neptune stares at the screen with Tyrian's mad laugh on it, his huge golden eyes glaring into the camera, staring through them almost. "But remember, we do this  _together_." Sun says to her, caressing her cheek. She smiles and she presses her lips to his, wrapping her arms around him, and she holds him tight, never wanting their embrace to end. But sat there is Neptune who looks at them both. He clears his throat and they both yelp, breaking their kiss to look at him awkwardly.

"If you're gonna make out, get a room." Neptune requests.

"Sure, as long as you are the Ice Queen do." Sun challenges with a smirk on his face.

"I'm sure we will." Neptune promises, crossing his arms. He is still getting used to the new cybernetics in his legs to help him walk around, that is why he is sat down right now opposed to standing. Raven stands in the background, listening to how they make their plans. Blake is constantly looking at the uncharted zones of Remnant, the satellites have revealed them but there are no known records around the dark, dragon shaped, portion of the continent. She presses the graphite tip upon the paper, dragging it around into a full circle around the continent area.

"All that land with no mapped areas...a bit ironic?" Blake theorises.

"It is a good point." Neptune agrees. He leans over the map. "But where would we start, there is a lot of land around here, maybe we could try and figure out from the footage?" Neptune suggests.

"No...we can't see anything outside, he was smart about that. We can't guess from the video and we have listened to every word. He hasn't given us any clues." Sun groans, scratching his hair, his monkey tail curling around his legs. Blake looks at the footage of the insane Scorpion Faunus and she can't help but shudder at the image of his laughing face. She picks up the remote controller, switching the television off.

"Let's get that off." She sighs, feeling a lot more at ease.

"He kept on mentioning Ozpin, do you really think he knows we don't know? I mean Oscar said that he can hear him, if that's the case then why isn't he interrogating him?" Sun wonders, laying on the cold floor.

"Oh I'm sure they are." Blake sighs, the situation has become a complete train-wreck.

"What if the Knights have somehow figured out where Ozpin is hiding and they are already headed there now?" Neptune suggests with nervousness.

"Unlikely." Raven chimes in. They all look at her. "Ozpin's smart, he wouldn't make a mistake like that." Raven explains.

"The Knights are unpredictable..." Sun groans.

"So is Ozpin." Rave points out. Blake rubs the side of her cheek, but when she looks over...her amber eyes widen and she gasps in shock. Sun looks at her and he follows her eyes, his expression mirrors the one on her face.

**Yang**

Yang walks back to Kassius who is working on his cybernetic arm. He has found a wrench and also has taken his Exo-Suit off, now he is just wearing some normal clothes. He wears a brown jacket and a black shirt underneath it. He twists the wrench around one of the joints in his elbow, tightening it so the arm doesn't fall off. Seems like his one requires a lot more maintenance than Yang's does. She sits down beside him, resting her arm on the table, looking at him. "Hey! How are you?" He asks her, straining as he twists the bolt round. She notices that he is working on his arm and she decides to query some questions, one Cyborg to another. She tilts her head.

"What happened? Did you damage it?" Yang asks him, touching the metal and checking it over.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. It got a ton of sand wedged in the joints, I had to get it all out of there." He says, pointing with the wrench into a bucket on the floor, some sand in the bottom of it. "Now - I just need to get - it - back - in - there!" He strains, and finally there is a click. He then starts moving his arm around flexibly again. He sighs with happiness to see the fingers moving easily. "I envy you, you know...that arm does not play up nearly as much as this one does." He says, lifting the metal arm up to her. Yang's eyes focus on something around his neck that makes her curious, something she has never noticed until now, somehow.

"What's that?" Yang asks him. Kassius looks at where she is pointing and he touches it, pulling it out. It's a necklace that has a small device, like a USB stick attached to. Not what she was expecting and she bends her head slightly.

"It's...a very long story. I can tell you some other time." He assures her, he holds quite a few things back from everyone. Including the girl that he loves. But before she can comment any further, a gasp escaped her lungs and her eyes dilate in fear from who she sees enter the room across the way, speaking to some Tribesmen. Kassius looks at her and follows her line of vision to look at who she is looking at.

His black trench coat is damaged and he holds Wilt and Blush in his hand, his glowing red hair still in one piece and the White Fang mask covering his eyes. It's Adam Taurus. Kassius looks at the sword and then at Yang. He does it a couple more times and then he pieces it together from her fearful reaction. He looks at her arm and then at Wilt and Blush. He slowly looks at Yang. "Yang...is he the one you were talking about?" He asks her. Yang just nods once, and that's it.

Kassius' cybernetic hand snarls, clenching into a tight fist and he scowls straight at Adam, beginning to shake with rage.

And then...

Red flushes into his eyes and his eyes glow bright red, unlike Yang when they just turn red. His eyes seem more and more unstable than Yang's flickering and crackling from how much anger is flowing through him, and his body has tensed up, fuelled with this anger. His glow and there is a red energy trailing from those enraged eyes, like they are on fire. The veins across his body start to glow fiery red as well, showing his rage and something else that lives within him. Then he speaks, and his voice has changed, his voice is partially heard but it is far more demonic than it was before.

He glares straight at Adam with fury in those eyes. "I'm gonna kill him." He growls menacingly.


	8. Mr Hyde

**Kassius**

Adam speaks to one of the Tribesmen, and he has no idea that Kassius has gotten up and is storming towards him, his hands clenching into fists. Vulcan Nox still attached to his wrists. Kassius swings his cybernetic fist straight across the Faunus' face, hitting him so hard that he stumbles against a barrel, knocking it onto the floor and causing it to roll around. Adam staggers, using his hand to slow himself down. On the table beside them, Kassius grabs the two disengaged Lash Equinox Swords, flicking them upwards so then the blades fold outwards. His eyes are piercing red and his teeth are gritted, his voice transformed into some demonic tone. He slashes the two swords straight at Adam forcefully, causing Adam to defend himself, drawing Wilt and Blush partially, blocking the impacts. The impacts cause the blade and his hair to glow. But Kassius is fast, he spins round and kicks him in the side of the head. The impact of which throws the White Fang leader across the room and smashing straight onto the floor.

Yang stands up and tries to stop him, but Qrow grabs her hand to stop her. "Kassius!" Blake yells, her eyes sparking open. Jaune and Weiss walk out when they hear the commotion and Weiss gasps.

"What's he doing?" Jaune questions.

Adam fully draws his sword and starts to fight back, slashing the red blade at the berserk individual, red energy trailing from the blade, every swing creating waves of wind. Kassius hops back on his toes and he continues to fight. Whatever this thing is, it is very different to Yang's semblance. Hers is made from being hurt or even from anger and it makes her stronger, this seems to make him become savage with rage. Kassius points the blade of Lash Equinox at Adam with wrathful eyes that are set on a warpath. His veins glow and seem to burn fire red as he stands there. "You dare hurt my girlfriend?" Kassius snarls, and his voice is terrifying now. Adam looks and he hears the sound of Yang's gasp, realising that she is here as well.

"Stand down and we can talk this through!" Adam attempts, showing a new side to his personality.

"Did you stand down and talk to Yang before you cut her arm off?" Kassius roars, sprinting straight at him. Adam swings his sword at him, but Kassius lands on the blade and he jumps into the air, performing a back-flip that kicks Adam up the jaw. Kassius lands perfectly, spinning his swords through his fingers and he runs at him again. Adam brings the sword round and slashes straight at him. He immediately raises the blade, blocking the thunderous attack from Kassius as he smashes the two blades straight into the red blade. He pushes against it, his teeth gritted with a stern scowl on his face.

"You made me do this!" Adam yells, spinning round and kicking him in the side of the head with his heel. Kassius grunts and he falters. But he turns swiftly and grabs a wrench, throwing it into his face with enough force to break his nose. There is a loud metallic bang that erupts from the impact. He groans in pain, touching his face and staring at Kassius as he gets back up, glaring at him menacingly.

"Tell me..." Kassius snarls, his voice is practically gone now. "Did you think it was worth it?" Kassius questions as he picks his swords back up. Adam glares at him and he grits his teeth, spinning Wilt and Blush through his fingers as he stands tall, ready to fight once more against him. Kassius' burning red eyes stare through the mask. "I'm gonna make you regret ever touching Yang." He snarls, he launches himself straight at Adam and he tackles him through a wall. The wall explodes, and they both start to plummet down the internal network of pipes and cables that power this facility. Adam crashes straight through some pipes whilst Kassius gets caught in the wires, hanging in them by his whole body. He snarls in annoyance, savagely slashing his sword across the cables to free himself and he falls with Adam. He leaps at Adam after pressing his feet to the wall behind him, grabbing onto him and he kicks him straight into the chest when there is a flat surface beneath them. Adam smashes through a pipe, screaming as he crashes down onto the floor with force, sending cracks across the concrete floor. Adam groans in pain, Kassius lands right beside him, and he brutally sends his boot into the side of Adam's chest, sending him through another wall that crumbles upon the Taurus' impact. He falls from the wall and a couple of Tribesmen panic when they see Adam falling from the wall. They have entered some sort of hanger, some Bullheads landed inside, being refuelled and restocked.

The Tribe have some pretty intimidating equipment.

Kassius approaches the hole in the wall but he stops when he hears Yang calling down to him. "Kassius! Stop! Please!" She begs. Kassius looks up at her, his eyes still glowing red and she can see how bright they are glowing right now, how his veins are glowing red and his body seems like it is unstable.

"Kassius is gone." He snarls, turning and walking to the crater in the wall. Yang's eyes widen in confusion and she turns to everyone up there.

"We need to stop him." Yang begs.

"Come on! Where would they have landed?" Blake asks Raven, in a hurried voice. Sun does not seem to be as willing to stop Kassius, but it is more for their betterment that he does not kill one of the leaders of the White Fang when they want to unite them.

"Hanger Bay Five." Raven answers.

They all start to run after where they fell.

Adam groans, pressing his hands against the floor to get back up, one hand still wrapped around Wilt and Blush as he stands up. He lifts the red blade up and stabs it into the surface of the concrete floor, pushing himself back up to his feet. He looks up to see Kassius approaching him and the red eyed person points his sword straight at him. Adam stands tall, looking right at him and he starts to catch his breath. "Never should have hurt her..." Kassius growls aggressively.

"I was wrong." Adam admits.

Kassius chuckles menacingly, still holding Lash Equinox up, aimed at him. "You were, and as punishment, I'm gonna cut you up, into teeny tiny pieces." He growls through gritted teeth. Adam swings the red blade back and he is ready to fight now, unlike when Kassius managed to jump him when he wasn't expecting it.

"We'll see about that." Adam replies.

"That's the spirit." Kassius chuckles, and then he starts walking towards him, and Adam gets ready for a painful fight. Kassius lets out his battle-cry as he swings his swords straight at Adam, and Adam lifts his sword up with one hand, blocking the impacts. Every impact causes the red blade to shine bright red. Adam deflects his attacks, but Kassius has become so aggressive that he is forced to walk back to fight him. Adam scraps Wilt and Blush across the blades of Lash Equinox and he punches Kassius in the side of the head. Adam grabs Kassius by the throat and throws him away. But his throw is not as strong as Kassius' cybernetic throw, and he rolls across the floor, dragging his sword through the concrete. He immediately gets back up and lunges his sword towards him. Adam thrashes the red blade up, the impact of the three blades smashing against each other sends glowing orange sparks dancing across the air with a metallic crack. Adam immediately spins round with his sword and slashes it towards him. The blade slices across his coat and he rolls backwards.

Adam lowers his sword but keeps it drawn, walking around Kassius. "I haven't met you before, but I can guess that you are the love of Yang Xiao Long." Adam presumes as he looks at Kassius, slowly getting back up. "There's a parasite in your mind, you need to understand that I was different then. I was blind to the truth." Adam explains. Kassius gets back up, and his glowing red eyes stare straight into Adam's eyes as he stands before him. His cybernetic hand clenches into a fist. "I was blind to what Blake has been fighting for until now." He admits.

Kassius smirks and scoffs at him. "Well...here I am." He announces, his hands held out before him as he glares at Adam. Adam sighs and he starts to walk towards him.

"You're name's Kassius, right? Please just hear me out." Adam begs. Kassius begins to reveal something that shows how different his cybernetics are far beyond what Yang's are. The metal begins to shift and change, revealing some kind of mechanism inside. He points his wrist at Adam and a pair of small devices shoot out to each of his shoulders. They both start blaring extremely strong infrasound waves into his ears, stunning him and he groans in distress, pressing his hands against his head. Kassius grips the blade of his sword tight and he starts to approach. But Adam sharply slashes his sword into one and fires the shotgun in the hilt at the other, destroying them both. He staggers a little but he recovers pretty quick. "Don't you understand, Kassius? This is exactly what the Knights want! They aim to divide us!" Adam argues. Kassius walks straight towards him, staring straight at the mask with his glowing red eyes. The red light reflects off the white mask.

"I understand enough!" He shouts in rage, his voice almost transformed like it is being concealed by a Voice Disguiser. Adam sighs, kicking him straight in the chest, and the impact launches Kassius backwards and he crashes through some crates in the hanger bay. He growls with vexation in his lungs. But as he always does: he gets back up. Adam stands there and he starts to walk back over to him. Kassius yells, swinging his sword at him but Adam catches his wrist and swings his sword straight at him.

Kassius recoils back, the red blade slicing across his cheek, drawing blood. "Stay down!" Adam urges desperately. "If I wanted to, you'd be dead already." He promises. Kassius starts to shake with infuriating anger, the red energy rumbling as it erupts up the side of his head and charging into his eyes, making them glow much brighter than before. His cybernetic fist tightens as he stands there and he looks over his shoulder at him, like his head is about to erupt like a Volcano.

"I bet you know that all too well." Kassius snarls. Adam grits his teeth and he holds Wilt and Blush tight.

"I didn't want to do this." He says, bringing it up and swinging the red blade straight at him. But to Adam's horror, Kassius opens up his cybernetic hand and catches the red blade and stops it where it was, creating a loud ringing sound. He glares through the mask, staring into the eyes behind it.

"You hide behind a mask...I follow Kassius everywhere he goes." Kassius growls, hinting at something else in his head, the thing that is controlling him right now. Kassius rips Wilt and Blush from Adam's fingertips and then he pulls his head back and smashes it into the mask that Adam wears. Cracks form on the mask, pieces fracture from the mask and he staggers back, groaning as he staggers. Kassius throws Wilt and Blush onto the floor and he walks towards him.

Kassius drops Lash Equinox onto the floor. "Let's settle this like men, shall we?" He offers. Kassius walks straight at Adam, the masked man yells, swinging his closed fist at the face of Kassius. Kassius ducks down to dodge it, bringing his human fist up into his chest, causing him to jolt upwards. Kassius grabs him by his horns and throws him with all of his might, yelling with rage. Adam screams, crashing straight into a Bullhead, causing it to slide slightly from his impact. Adam falls chest-first onto the cold floor, coughing in pain. Kassius continues to come after him, not truly in his own mindset, he has never been this bloodthirsty, or this villainous before.

Adam glares at him, through the cracked mask to look him in the eyes. He immediately gets back up to punch Kassius, but the Cyborg is superior in hand-to-hand combat than he is. Faster and more agile, jerking his head aside to avoid the fist. Kassius grabs Adam's arm with his cybernetic arm and twists it, creating an internal pop that makes Adam scream in pain. Kassius forces the face of Adam down into his knee, smashing his nose into it and then throws him further. Adam bounces across the floor, coughing in pain. Adam limps to get back up but immediately meets the fist of Kassius that spreads more cracks across the Grimm mask, causing him to stagger back. Kassius kicks him in the chest that launches Adam back.

Kassius charges after him, jumping into the air, yelling as he slams both boots into his chest with force. Adam splutters in pain as he faces the impact. Kassius grabs his horn and lifts him off the floor, pummelling his fist over and over again into his chest. The cybernetic arm punches him at great velocity, probably cracking his ribs inside and he groans in agony. Still holding Adam by his horn, Kassius smashes Adam's face straight into a pillar, breaking the concrete and splattering blood against it. Kassius squeezes tight on the horn, causing Adam to wail in pain, holding his horn tight, faint cracking sounds groaning from inside the tightening grip of the cybernetic warrior. Kassius then pulls away with force and there is an almighty bang that erupts from his horn as he pulls away. The horn shatters like glass and Adam screams in pain, falling to the floor, pressing his hands to his head from the sudden rush of pain. Kassius opens his hand slowly, dropping shards of horn matter onto the floor.

Adam splutters, blood ejecting from his mouth, bruises laid across his body from the trauma that he has suffered. His eyes focus on the thing beside him. Kassius' rage has caused him to smash Adam down beside Wilt and Blush and Adam snarls in anger. He swiftly squeezes his hand onto the hilt and rises back up, slashing his sword straight at Kassius, cutting across his shirt and jacket. Kassius staggers back from the impact but his aura has not been destroyed yet. But he has nearly managed to break the aura of Adam. Adam uses the wall as a support to get back up, pointing Wilt and Blush at him. Kassius glares at him as he stands there. Kassius backs up to where Lash Equinox lay and he scoops his feet under both blades, kicking them both up one at a time and catching them both in mid-air.

He spins them through his fingers and stares into his eyes. Kassius charges at Adam with both swords in his hands and Adam runs at him, yelling as they run. Kassius jumps straight at him, bringing the two swords down with force at him. Adam holds his blade up and holds them back, pushing him back forcefully and kicking him in the side of the face. Kassius slashes the two swords at Adam, slicing through one section of his Trench Coat and immediately bringing it up his chest, slicing across the few shreds of aura he has left after the beating he suffered from Kassius. Adam grunts in pain but he immediately slashes the sword at Kassius once more, Kassius uses the blades as guards, backing up from Adam as he fights him, yelling aggressively.

Kassius presses both blades against the blade of Wilt and Blush. "I said fist-fight!" He yells, scraping them both down the blade and into Adam's hand. Adam screams in pain when the sword slices his thumb off, blood squirting from the wound. Kassius throws his swords on the floor after kicking Wilt and Blush from his hands. Kassius grabs onto the collar around Adam's neck and throws him into the pillar next to them, head first. He rips him from the dust, dust covering his face and blood tricking from where the concrete had damaged his face. He punches Adam over and over in the face, damaging the mask even more. Adam pushes Kassius away, but he jumps in the air, spinning round and building the momentum up with his cybernetic hand and he smashes his knuckles into the side of Adam's head, knocking him straight to the floor.

Adam's aura flickers and pulsates across his body before shattering like glass. Kassius approaches the wounded man, grabbing him by the throat with his metal hand. He lifts Adam off the floor and stares into his eyes as he holds him above his head. "This is for Yang!" He gnashes his teeth like a savage dog. Kassius yells in anger, throwing Adam one last time into the concrete floor.

This impact is so powerful that the concrete floor explodes around Adam, leaving a crater for him to be left in as he bleeds from his wounds, both internally and externally. Kassius looks down at him and then picks up Wilt and Blush, pressing down on his chest with his foot. "Seems fitting." Kassius states, lifting the red blade above his head. He prepares to bring it down but then he hears her.

"Stop!" Yang begs. His eyes look straight at her and the red veins begin to recede from his glowing red eyes, but the eyes are still furious when he looks at her. Her blonde hair blows in the wind that enters the room. The team are with her, ready to help stop him from doing something he will regret. Blake stands beside her with Gambol Shroud in her hand.

"Step away from him." Blake orders.

"You defend him after what he did?" He questions, sounding disgusted and even looks repulsed from the expression on his face.

"We need to make an alliance with the White Fang! We can interrogate him, not kill him!" Blake argues. Kassius stands there and he looks at Yang who wants him to stop, but then he looks down at Adam at his mercy. He grits his teeth in anger.

"No." He snarls. He goes to stab him through the rib-cage but Yang fires Ember Celica at the sword to knock it from his hand. The reaction is Kassius staring at them all with those furious eyes. He pulls his foot from the wounded Adam and starts to storm towards them. Blake and Sun run at him with their weapons. Blake jumps at him but he grabs her by her ankle and throws her into one of the pillars. Blake yelps upon impact and Sun hits Kassius with Ruyi Jingu Bang to keep him distracted. But this version of Kassius is so much faster, he is able to counter every attack that they have. Sun goes to hit his leg but he catches the staff and punches it into his face. He turns to Lash Equinox on the floor and picks them both up. Winter and Weiss start to fight him with their swords, Weiss is still injured from Death and she should not be fighting. Kassius holds both their blades back with the blades of his swords and that proceeds to him kicking them both in the chest, launching them back. Qrow runs at him to try and just get his aura down to calm him. But he is too fast for even him to get a good hit.

Adam attempts to stand back up and he looks at Blake, blood leaking down from under the mask. Blake waves him off. "Get out of here!" She yells. Adam nods and he starts to retreat from the battle. Kassius punches Neptune across the face which knocks him onto the floor. Kassius looks over his shoulder and he sees Adam running. His eyes narrow from anger, the veins leading into his eyes glow bright red. He growls angrily.

"Where do you think you're going?" He whispers. He holds Lash Equinox like a javelin and he launches it straight at him. The blade soars across the air towards Adam.

"Look out!" Blake screams. Adam looks over his shoulder and when he turns, the blade lodges straight into his shoulder and carries him into a landed Bullhead, the blade stabbing through his shoulder and into the metal skin of the aircraft. Adam rasps in pain, blood now heavily leaving his body where he has been pinned by the sword. Nora jumps at Kassius, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him back.

"Stop this, Kassius!" Nora begs.

Kassius thrashes around like a wild animal as she tries to hold him back. "This isn't you!" She yells. Kassius grabs Nora by her orange hair and launches her into the floor. He turns to a cable that is holding a crane with crates inside of it above them. He swipes the blade of his sword across the cable, cutting it loose and releasing the cargo above their heads. Ren sees that Nora is underneath it and he jumps, grabbing her so she is out of the way when the heavy boxes plummet down. Kassius stares straight at the pinned Adam and he sprints after him. Blake's eyes widen and she jumps over the boxes.

"Blake!" Sun yells, reaching out for her. Kassius charges straight for him, grabbing the hilt of Lash Equinox and ripping it from his shoulder, blood squirting from the wound. Kassius holds him by the cheeks.

"You will die for your sins!" He snarls. He smashes him into the floor and puts the swords down. He clenches his cybernetic hand into a fist and he punches him over, and over and over again in the face. In the mask specifically. Blake is getting closer and closer.

Every punch begins to break the mask.

One

Two

Three

Each punch causes the cracks to spread and the mask begins to crumble. Kassius stares straight at him and pulls him towards his face by his collar. He sends the final punch directly into the mask, completely shattering it upon impact. The pieces of mask fall and bounce on the floor. Kassius stares into his eyes...only to see...

That his eyes are blinded.

There are a multitude of scars scraped across his eyes and his eyes are faded to white, almost gone. But tears still leak from them when he realises his secret that only few know has been revealed. Kassius looks at him in legitimate surprise, his eyes still under the control of whatever has his mind. Blake pushes him back and stands between them, pointing her Katana at him. "You're blind to more than just the truth..." Kassius says in his threatening voice.

"Get away from him." Blake demands. Kassius looks at her and there is a slight change in his eyes and he begins to wince, his face contorting like he is in pain. His eyes flicker from red to blue as he stands there, growling in pain as he presses his hand to the side of his head.

"Stay back..." He begs them, in his normal voice, but pretty quickly the eyes return to their red form and the anger returns, he points Lash Equinox at Blake after he picks it back up. "Get out of my way." The other Kassius snarls, his voice all demonic once more. And Blake saw, this is definitely not the real Kassius, there is something in his mind. Blake gets ready for a fight...

Until a Dust Charged Whip is pointed at Kassius. "Leave them alone." She demands. His eyes move from Blake and he sees who stands beside her. She has large blue eyes, at the moment anyway, and a long chameleon-like ponytail.

It's Ilia...

The look of pure shock...and hatred...forms on Kassius' face. Blake looks at Ilia in fear, not only because she was getting somewhere with calming Kassius down, but because she knows about what happened with his team. He tightens his grip on his sword and his teeth grit and eyes begin to twitch. "Ilia?" Blake whimpers in fear.

"You..." Kassius growls wit pure malice in his eyes. The deep volcanic rumbling sound of the veins turning bright red once more engages and he now has a new target. He sprints straight at her and she looks down at Adam and then at Ilia as she takes off running from Kassius. Blake turns and sees Yang and Sun running up to her. She then looks at the others who are trying to catch up.

"Get him to a medic!" She yells.

Qrow nods to her and they help pick Adam up to get him to safety. Blake, Sun and Yang look down the way that Ilia and Kassius have taken off, and they are following some sort of Pipeline.

**Blake**

Ilia clambers up the side of a pipeline as she flees from Kassius. She looks back and sees him in pursuit. He jumps and slams both blades into the pipes, using them to help climb after her. Ilia gasps as she starts to climb higher and faster. She continues to run and finds herself getting outside when the tunnel comes to a close. Yang, Blake and Sun chase after Kassius who is persistent on going after Ilia. Yang has her lilac eyes focused on helping her boyfriend get into the right mindset, she does not care about Ilia or Adam. She just wants the old Kassius back, not this monster that has control over his body and his soul. Ilia hops up the side of a building to get away from him but he is still using his swords as tools to get after her.

Blake and Yang both jump onto the rooftops on one building whilst Sun attempts to flank him on the other.

Kassius fires Vulcan Nox at her, he is serious now. He was beating Adam to a pulp out of anger, this is out of vengeance. The bullet clips her leg and she screams in pain as the blood starts to leak from her leg. She climbs up as best as she can, blood trailing from her leg as she limps away. Blake gasps when she sees that happen. "She's hurt!" Blake yelps. Yang focused on Kassius whilst Sun and Blake focus on Ilia.

"Ironic how - We're helping the chick who - shot me in the arm?" Sun asks as he passes by some walls.

"A little bit." She agrees, running with him.

Ilia clambers onto the roof of a building and she looks over her shoulder to see Kassius jumping up, using the recoil of Vulcan Nox to get him up onto one of the pipes that feeds fuel and gas into the facility. It's an old pumping station of some kind. "You betrayed us!" He yells with fury.

"I didn't have a choice!" She replies, running as fast as she can.

"Yeah! Continue to run as you always do, you coward!" He bellows, not faltering to chase after her, sliding across chimneys and other pipes that are on top. Ilia has slowed down quite a bit since there is a bullet lodged in her leg. Blake manages to catch up to Kassius and Sun makes his way around to get onto the roof. She comes to a stop by a wall that is holding her current escape back since she is too injured to get away fast enough before he could pull her down. She turns to face him when he lands behind her. "Nowhere left to run." He snarls.

Blake jumps up behind him and kicks him in the back. Sun rises up and tackles him forcefully into the floor, holding him down. "Doesn't this look familiar?" Sun jokes. He pushes his hands down onto the arms of Kassius, but the strength of his cybernetic arm pushes Sun off and Kassius swings a fist straight across his face. He immediately sprints after Ilia with Lash Equinox extending, but Sun's Semblance activates, his Via Sun forms jumping onto him and holding Kassius down to the floor. Ilia and Blake look at him and he looks at them. "Why do you ladies always check me out when I'm trying to make a distraction?" He erupts. But it does not last forever for he rips free from their grip and he aims Vulcan Nox straight at Ilia, and Blake is stood in between them both.

Sun's eyes widen in fear. "Blake! Look out!" He yells. Blake gasps when she turns and sees Kassius stood behind her with Vulcan Nox aimed at her. Ilia pushes Blake out of the way and aims her Whip at Kassius. They are at a standoff, glaring into each other's eyes. Blake runs in between the two of them and she holds her hands out to them both.

"Stop!" Blake begs.

"She is responsible for their deaths." He snarls in anger, not looking away.

"I didn't have a choice!" She responds in a terrified tone. Kassius scoffs.

" _Everyone_  has a choice!" He barks and the sudden outburst makes her jump. "You were too much of a coward to make the right one, I thought I could trust you...I will not make that mistake again." He growls, preparing to fire. He hears the sound of the puddle beside him splashing and he turns.

Yang sends her cybernetic fist hurtling into his face with force and he grunts, falling onto the floor with a heavy thud. Not unconscious but it knocked something out of him. He stumbles and holds his hand to his head, groaning in pain. Blake looks over her shoulder and Ilia has vanished, taken her chance to escape while Yang managed to punch him. And she has taken off once more. Blake sighs and Sun walks over to her, hugging her because of how afraid he was that he would actually shoot her. He became pretty unpredictable. Yang crouches down beside Kassius and she looks at his eyes, noticing that his veins are not flowing with lava anymore. She lifts his head up and he now has a black eye, but his eyes are blue again.

Not red.

"Ow..." He groans.

"Sorry." She giggles as she looks at him. Sun looks at Kassius and walks towards him.

"What the hell was that?" Sun demands. Kassius sighs and he looks down at the floor.

"Did I hurt anyone?" He asks.

The three of them look at each other when he asks that question. "Do you remember anything?" Blake asks him. Kassius just shakes his head, but he knows what that was.

"You have some explaining to do." Sun states.

Kassius sighs, rubbing his black eye. "I guess that's fair..." He huffs.

Yang looks at him affectionately, she knows that this is something he has been avoiding for a while now.

"I'll explain it to you...just get everyone together...it's a hell of a thing." He sighs. Kassius looks at where he saw Ilia last and he still scowls but his eyes stay the same colour.

**Yang**

After returning Kassius back to the base, they have sat him down so then he can explain himself. They all look at him, Qrow crosses his arms and they all want a full explanation on what just happened there. "What the hell happened?" Qrow questions. Yang walks over to his side and gives him a bag of ice so then she can press it to his cheek.

"Hang on a minute...he's not fully out of my head yet." He explains. They all look at him with concern.

"He?" Winter asks.

He puts the ice bag down on the table and he leans forward to them. "I've had this problem ever since I was a kid...alright?" He begins. "My semblance...it isn't so much of an ability but it's more like a condition. I guess you could call it a severe case of Schizophrenia." Kassius explains to them. Qrow looks down slightly since he understands what it is like to have a Semblance like that, when you cannot control it. "It is similar to Yang's, my eyes turn red but she can still retain her personality...I don't...extreme anger makes me switch. I have been taking medication back at Mistral, but since it fell I have been suffering to keep his voices at bay." Kassius explains.

"How is that possible? To have...two personalities?" Nora asks him.

"How do some people manage to channel lightning into their muscles or create shadow clones of themselves? I don't know, but that is what Semblances are, and it's not like I don't bother keeping him back, I just can't. Not without the pills I used to take, and with Mistral currently burning to the ground..." He sighs as he thinks about it. "Kinda funny if you think about it, once I used to be a freak because I was a member of a school when I didn't think I had a semblance, I thought it was just Schizophrenia. And now that I know that it is my semblance, I feel like even more of a freak." Kassius chuckles as he mentions that. Yang holds his hand and smiles.

"You're not a freak." Yang promises. He smiles back.

"So what was it exactly that...made you lose it?" Neptune asks.

"Seeing Adam there and realising he did what he did to Yang...it set him off." Kassius explains. Ren looks at Kassius.

"Him..." Ren mumbles and Kassius notices.

"Ever heard of the tale of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde?" He asks them all. They all start listening again. "I decided to name the other one Mr Hyde, every emotion I feel when he takes over is anger and I can't direct it. I'm guessing you all saw when you tried to stop me?" He presumes.

"Yeah, it's like you didn't know who we were..." Weiss says as she remembers how he fought them all so violently, probably was trying to kill him.

"I can sometimes fight him...but it's hard." Kassius explains, pressing his hand to the side of his head. "A curse that has been carried down the Locke name...we were never given names that were colours, I guess this is our punishment." He explains with self-anger in his eyes. Yang touches his hand gently and he looks at her with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Kassius." Qrow says.

"Don't pity me, just understand my situation." He requests.

"How well can you keep him at bay?" Blake asks him. Kassius thinks about how to answer the question.

"Like I said, he only takes over when something makes me snap. Usually things I have an emotional connection to...or crave revenge for." He explains to them all.

"Ilia..." Sun remembers.

"Is that the reason why...you've been having trouble sleeping?" Yang asks him, since she has only noticed it recently. He just nods as an answer and that is all that they need, the voices of Mr Hyde constantly bouncing around in his head.

"All the voices in my head that Hyde gives me...it makes it physically impossible to fall asleep." He reveals. They all gasp when he brings that up. "So yeah, there's that as well." He sighs. "That's what my pills essentially were: advanced sleeping pills." He says. They all sit in awe at this revelation, and Qrow thought that his luck was bad. At least he can sleep.

Everyone begins to depart, but he has one last bit of advice.

"And by the way, if he takes control again...refer to me as Mr Hyde. Otherwise I won't respond. You need to calm him down to release me. Or hit me really hard in the head." He says, looking at Yang with a smile.

Now they know the truth...

About Kassius Locke.


	9. Adam's Tale

**Adam**

Fifteen years ago...

A time before Revolution...

A young boy with red hair walks in a market, small horns protruding out from his forehead. He has large curious violet coloured eyes, looking up at the sky as he wanders around. Raised in a town outside of the luxuries of the Kingdoms, Menagerie, he wears a small black jumper with a white tulip design covered by a red rose design. The hood hangs down his back and he nervously twiddles his fingers as he looks around. "Adam?" A woman calls, and he looks over his shoulder to see a woman with long red hair stood there, looking over at him. A Faunus like him with a long cat-like tail that is the same colour as her hair. "Are you alright?" She asks him as she walks over to the young boy

The boy turns his attention to a large statue that stands before them, a chilling statue. "It scares me, mommy." Adam confesses. She looks at the statue, and she picks him up. The statue is a tall knight with large wings and a sword pressed into the ground. Mysterious scars engraved on its armoured body, left there for years. There is an engraving but it has faded over the years, faint hieroglyphics also faded from the wind-erosion. Adam's mother takes him away from the statue and sits him down on a bench, touching his hands as she crouches down before him.

"What's so scary about it?" She asks him with a gentle smile. He can't stop looking at the Knight.

"I don't know..." Adam mumbles. "...It just does..." His mother sits down next to him and she looks at the statue with him, putting her arm around his shoulders gently.

"It's just a statue." She says to him, giving him some comfort. "It can't hurt you." She promises. Adam looks up at her with a curious expression.

"You promise?" Adam asks.

"I promise." She assures, hugging him affectionately and he presses into her hug, never letting go. "I will never leave you." She promises. "Not even  _Death_ will separate my son from me." Adam closes his eyes, feeling at home now in his mother's arms. The statue of the Knight remaining where it is, creating a constant fear that nobody can possibly understand. But there is one thing that stands out about that statue, it is definitely the Knight of Death himself. And the inscription on the plaque at its base reads something, but not the name of Death. Something else, a different name. It is partially faded but it can still be translated if one can see it.

Archangel

And that's it.

The Archangel of Death.

Adam and his mother break their embrace and she gently caresses his cheek. "Now, I believe your father was asking for you, my darling." She says to Adam, ushering him to go find him. He hops off from the bench and starts to walk off from his mother. Her eyes then turn to the statue of the Knight in the middle of the square, her eyes narrow when she glares at it. Like it is some sort of vandalism on their square, despite of the Arkhoni Hieroglyphics upon the stone.

Adam walks through the streets, past many different Faunus and he turns a corner when he hears someone grunting, the sound of wooden sticks clattering against one another forcefully. He timidly touches the wall as he peers past the wall to observe the spectacle, a spectacle of two tall and muscular men entwined in combat. One of them is a huge muscular brute of a man with a hairy chest and thick black beard. He has a powerful voice as he fights with his opponent but he laughs as he fights with him. Clearly not a true fight but more a sparring match. He has amber coloured eyes, and sat on the chair of the manor is a smaller woman with black hair and large amber eyes. She has little black cat ears as holds a tiny baby in her arms, also with cat ears, feeding her a small bottle of milk, gently caressing the baby's cheek. The baby grabs her finger as she drinks the milk, large amber eyes looking up at her mother. Adam then looks over at the match again, watching as the man skilfully deflects the attacks of his friend. The other opponent, less muscular but just as tall. Thinner and faster than the big man, with huge horns protruding from his forehead that curve back like a bull. His hair is blood red, slicking back over his head. He wears a large black trench coat with the same insignia as his son does, the Taurus Symbol, across his shoulder.

He spins the wooden stick through his fingers and he starts to get the upper hand on the larger man, managing to parry the stick from the hands of the huge man, bouncing onto the warm floor of the estate. He points the stick at him, stopping at his face. The man looks at him, begging for mercy. "Oh...would the almighty Donovan Taurus grant the weakling mercy?" He playfully begs, falling to his knees with his hands clasped together above his head. Donovan, Adam's father lowers the stick with a laugh and he grabs his hand, lifting the huge man back to his feet. They both guffaw as they conclude their match.

"Please, Ghira, I don't think I could stand any more grovelling." Donovan comments with a smirk, putting his training stick down on the table in the garden. Ghira...he is so much younger here, perhaps in his mid twenties and Kali in her early twenties. Ghira has a booming laugh as he pats his friend on the shoulder.

"Your skills have improved greatly since our last bout, Donnie. I see the White Fang's work has been helping well." Ghira points out as he stands there, crossing his arms as he speaks to him. Donovan shakes his head.

"Sienna's idea is great and all, but I simply want to help our people become more equal with the rest of humanity." He sighs.

"As we all do." Ghira agrees. Ghira turns when he catches a small glimpse of the boy watching in the corner and he looks at little Adam. "Oh, why hello there Adam." Ghira greets with a smile, politely bowing forward to him, which makes Adam smile sweetly. Donovan turns and sees his son there, crossing his arms when he sees him stood there, nervously looking at them.

"Hello." He shyly says, hiding behind the wall.

"Come now, I don't bite." Ghira promises. Adam slowly but surely emerges, approaching him and his father as they both tower above him. "What brings you here?" Ghira asks. Adam looks up at his father, consumed by his shadow.

"My mother said that father wanted to see me." Adam answers. Ghira looks at Donovan and he nods.

"Well, it was good seeing you both, I shall leave you to it. Catch up later?" Ghira asks him with a pointed finger.

"You know it." Donovan responds.

Ghira walks over to Kali, kissing her affectionately, caressing the cheek with the cooing baby Blake in her mother’s arms who cradles her.

Donovan takes his son away from the Belladonna Estate and they both walk outside of the courtyard, Adam looking up at the beautiful blue skies of sapphires. "You are probably wondering why I asked you to come here?" Donovan presumes. Adam nods to his father. Donovan smiles and he jerks his head towards their house, a smaller house than the Belladonna but still dwarfs the houses of the other villagers of Menagerie. They both approach the huge house, Donovan Taurus opens the doors and he closes them behind him and his son when they both enter. His mother is not here right now, and there are many symbols engraved in the woodwork, including the same symbol that would one day forge the mask that he wears today. Adam follows his father, seeing the medals he has won, seeing a photograph of his father with Ghira Belladonna. They fought together once, taking down a Grimm Wyvern, the evaporating body fading away around them both. They must have taken that picture very quickly to remember their victory by.

But Adam continues to follow his father, Donovan approaches a large container and he opens it up.

Inside is Wilt and Blush, he picks it up by the hilt and holds it by the sheathed blade with the other, holding it as he looks down at his son. He crouches down before him. "You are not yet old enough to use this sword, but one day I shall pass this down to you, as it has been passed down through the Taurus name." Donovan explains to him, Adam's eyes widen in amazement when he looks upon the beautiful sword. "It is time for you to begin your training, so then one day you can train others." He says to Adam with a smile. Adam looks up at his father with amazement at the honour that awaits him.

Six years pass...

He is now fourteen years old.

His hair has grown longer and his face is starting to look more like the Adam Taurus that the world recognises today. He holds a wooden staff in his hands and he swiftly moves it to block the attack of his father as he attacks first. Just as his father did six years prior, they are training out in the Belladonna Courtyard. They challenge each other every day so then Adam can improve his fighting skills. He is incredibly fast, senses like a snake, managing to hop back to avoid the blows from his father's wooden stick. Adam slides his feet across the sand, smacking his staff against his father's creating loud cracking thwacks on every impact, grunting from every movement. His father chuckles as he fights with his son. "Very good, now try and go on the offensive instead of the offensive!" Donovan suggests. Adam swiftly swings the stick round with force and he manages to hit his father in the leg. But his father is cunning and fast, swiping his stick across the legs of Adam, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. Donovan points his stick directly at Adam's face and he stops. The round has ended, and Donovan pulls the stick away. "Not bad, you are improving." Donovan says. Adam groans with the teenage ability to roll his eyes at everything that his parents say to him.

"But?" Adam asks with annoyance, getting back up, wiping the dust off his clothes.

"But you are still quite predictable." Donovan critiques as he rubs the back of his leg where Adam managed to hit him. "You keep on going to  _hit_ the leg, when you should really be trying to swipe them off their feet." Donovan explains.

"Yeah, but when I'm using a sword that shouldn't matter." Adam comments.

"You won't always be able to have Wilt and Blush by your side, you must be skilled in more than just the arts of the sword." Donovan explains to him. Whilst Adam is being lectured by his father, a small Blake Belladonna appears on the porch, sitting down on a beanbag outside. She crosses her legs and she watches, her little cat ears enthusiastically perking up as she listens to what Donovan says to his son. "To be able to fully take down an enemy, you must focus on more than what you can  _see_  but also what your other senses are telling you. You must always be aware of your surroundings." He explains. "Take this for example, I was once out on an outreach mission with some White Fang to talk to some Humans about some colony efforts outside of Menagerie, in the middle of the discussion, we were ambushed by a Deathstalker. I could feel the ground quaking when it approached, I was able to get people out of the way before the Deathstalker attacked. We didn't lose a single life." Donovan explains to him.

Adam sighs, scratching his cheek as he stands there, he turns to his father again, still holding the stick. "Come on, one more before dinner." He says, spinning the staff through his fingers. Adam nods and he sharply moves the stick downwards, in the same animation of which he sheathes Wilt and Blush, holding the top and the bottom like the hilt and the sheath. He waits as his father circles him, standing his ground as he moves. "Use every sense in your body." Donovan speaks, and Adam pays attention.

Every shift in the grains of sand beneath his bare toes, the change in the wind to use against him. He also watches his father's footwork, as footwork is one of the most important factors during combat, for it is like a dance. A dance between life and death, one will triumph. Adam closes his eyes however and Donovan sees that as an opportunity, taking a swing with the training stick at him, and Adam listens intently, hearing the grains of sand scraping from the movement. His eyes snap wide open and he steps back, slamming the stick into his father's back, making him stagger past him and he looks at his son with a proud expression. But this dance is not finished just yet. Donovan moves forward and pushes the stick forward like he went to stab him with the blade of Wilt and Blush, but Adam smacks his staff aside, moving effectively as he walks, using masterful footwork as he circles his father. He holds the staff with both hands now, using it to block Donovan's attacks swiftly, stiff cracks thwacking from each impact of the wooden sticks hitting one another. Adam rolls backwards, sliding his hand through the sand and he notices that the wind is in his favour. He takes the sand and throws it, letting the wind carry the grains into his father's face, temporarily blinding him and giving Adam the time for some attacks. He gets a few hits in before swiping the staff across his father's feet, knocking him onto the floor. Donovan hits the floor and Adam points the staff at his face.

Blake gasps with happiness, seeing her friend managed to do it, bouncing on the spot. Adam smirks to his father and Donovan smirks back with the exact same expression. "Now that's my boy." Donovan says. Adam throws the staff on the floor and helps his father back up to his feet. Donovan flicks some of the sand grains from his trench coat and he pats his son on the shoulder. "Well done, you really are earning Wilt and Blush, keep that up and you will be unstoppable." Donovan promises with a smile. "Well, I shall find your mother. I'll see you at dinner." Donovan says, walking past him. Adam is left at the courtyard by himself, until young six year old Blake Belladonna skips over to his side, hugging him affectionately. He nearly falls over when being essentially tackles by the little girl.

"Whoa!" Adam exclaims as he regains his footing, holding her.

"You did it! I knew you could!" She joyously squeaks. She finally releases the suffocating Adam and she looks up at him with her feline amber eyes, tilting her head as she looks at him.

"Shouldn't you be doing your homework?" Adam asks her, pointing his finger at her with an accusing look.

"Well I was doing homework, but then I got bored so I felt like watching you train." Blake explains, and that makes Adam roll his eyes jokingly as he laughs.

"You are relentless." Adam chuckles.

"Will you teach me?" Blake asks him with a desperate vigour.

"One day, I still am a little rusty at the moment, but hey, one day I will. When you're old enough." Adam says as he points at her once more with a playful expression. Blake's ears fold down and she moans sadly as she looks at the floor. "Hey, I'm not gonna go easy on you when we do start training together. I don't want to hurt a six year old." Adam says to her. And even Blake can't argue with that logic. It is strange to see Blake so talkative, but she has always said that she wasn't always like the way she is now. There was a time when she was always happy...when things were not always so dark.

Blake looks up at her friend, but before she can even say anything she hears Ghira calling to her. Adam turns and sees Ghira standing in the doorway of his house. "Blake! Dinner's on the table!" Ghira calls and she looks at him.

"Coming!" She calls back, hugging her friend again. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks him with adorable friendliness.

"You know it." He assures. Adam looks at Ghira and he sees the huge man smile, waving to him. Adam waves back and the doors close behind them. Adam stands outside the Belladonna Estate and he sighs as he looks at where they were.

Everything was so peaceful.

Until that night.

The night that it all went wrong for Adam Taurus. He was in the middle of working on his White Fang Mask before it all went to hell. He sits there, drawing the designs for his trench coat that he wants to design off his father's. But during that time, a sudden and very loud explosion erupts from outside. So loud that his pencils on his table rattle aggressively and it knocks his glass of water over the table, smudging the paper up. He is too spooked from that explosion to even worry about what has happened to his drawings. His eyes widen when he hears screaming and he looks through the window. The statue of the Knight has just exploded, and then there is another blast. A house next to it explodes violently in a cloud of fire. Burning chunks of wood thrown into the sky from whatever was launched into it. Pieces of smouldering debris crash into the ground like asteroids that have broken through the atmosphere, launching flame engulfed splinters across the courtyard.

Adam immediately runs out from his room and gets outside, picking up his staff that he has been training with. He turns a corner and there is a tank moving through the street with a couple of soldiers walking with it. They are human, all of them, and they are shooting at the Faunus. Indiscriminately, but it does not look like there are that many of them. Just this tank by the looks of things. Adam squints his eyes in anger. He sprints towards a terrorist and smashes his staff across the face of the soldier, knocking him onto the ground. One of the soldiers glares at him and aims his gun at him. Until the red blade of Wilt and Blush suddenly erupts through the chest of one of the terrorists. He looks and sees Donovan stood there, pulling the blade from his stomach.

Adam reaches out for him, but as he does, a bullet suddenly travels across the whole city and straight through Donovan's torso, causing him to gasp in pain, collapsing to the floor with blood leaking out. "Dad!" Adam wails. He runs out from cover to his dad, pressing his hand to the wound. It is extremely bad, the dust charged round managed to burn straight through his chest. Covering his son with his own blood, he does not last long before he dies, unable to say goodbye to his son. But he does one thing, he places Wilt and Blush in his hands. Adam looks at the blade, and then he looks over his shoulder at who fired the round.

From one of the buildings, a dark silhouette leaps down and lands on the surface of the cobblestone ground, shattering the stones as he lands. The armour flexes to soften the landing for the Assassin and he approaches the scene with his men. An Onyx Phantom, not the current one because it is a male. But the exact same design but just made for men instead. He holds his rifle in one hand as he approaches the scene. The Onyx Phantom approaches the scene where the terrorists have multiple civilians on their knees before him. "Well done everyone." The Onyx Phantom speaks, this one actually speaks. His voice is manipulated by a voice disguiser, making the voice sound demonically unnatural. It is likely that the female armour has the exact same thing. Every time he speaks, the mouth protector flashes red as it transforms his voice into the Onyx Phantom's. "Now then...where is Mr Ghira Belladonna?" The Onyx Phantom asks as he picks up a piece of flaming wood.

Adam's rage gets the better of him and he sprints away from his father, drawing Wilt and Blush as he goes to attack the Onyx Phantom. He turns sharply and smashes the burning piece of wood into the eyes of Adam Taurus. The fire burns his skin and he screams in agony, his eyes burning from the flames and he presses his hands to his eyes, feeling the excruciating agony that he had to suffer through, smoke leaking from the cinders that burn into his skin and eyes. He rolls on the floor, wailing from the agony and his cries alerts his mother who emerges. She runs to his aid, but the Onyx Phantom draws his Revolver and points it straight at her. "Adam!" She cries out, until there is a loud bang and the bullet punctures through her body, blood squirting from her back, her body landing beside the blinded boy. The last thing that he ever sees are the corpses of his dead parents beside him, before the damage done to his eyes becomes permanent. Completely charring his eyes and blinding him forever. Creating the exact same scars that he must suffer with for the rest of his life. The Onyx Phantom holsters his Revolver.

"Damn Faunus freaks...where the hell is that thing?" The Onyx Phantom barks, yelling racial slurs to the Faunus around him, speaking to them all like they are animals. But when he stands there, one of his soldiers is suddenly shot from behind, crying out in agony as he collapses. The Onyx Phantom looks over his shoulder in disbelief.

The White Fang have come to their aid.

White Fang Militants charge towards the terrorists, still wearing the white and blue White Fang symbol that they once represented. They all charge towards the battle and one of them wields a huge chainsaw, sprinting at the Onyx Phantom. He slashes the chainsaw across his chest over and over, shredding through the armour plating. More and more terrorists fall...White Fang soldiers shooting their guns at them and freeing the prisoners that the Human Terrorists had captured. The Onyx Phantom battles against the Chainsaw Wielder over and over, smashing his swords against the saw. The White Fang soldier is the Lieutenant when he was a younger man, and he still used the Chainsaw even then. He yells, smashing the blade against the arm of the Onyx Phantom with force.

Young Blake peers over the edge and she sees the injured Adam Taurus on the ground, seeing his wounds. She immediately starts to run towards him, ducking down to avoid the stray bullets that dart overhead. As she runs, the Lieutenant and the Onyx Phantom both crash into the ground in front of her. The Onyx Phantom kicks the Lieutenant off his chest and turns to see Blake there. The Phantom snarls at her. "Dirty Faunus Scum!" He yells in anger as he goes to plunge the blade of his sword down into Blake. But before he can, the Lieutenant slashes the chainsaw across him once more. Ironic how that man has become one of Blake's greatest foes, since he saved her in the first place.

Blake runs past the warriors as they fight each other and she slides next to the unconscious Adam, she touches him but he doesn't move. She immediately picks up a cloth and wraps it around his head. "Help!" Blake calls out over the gunfire, but she is hardly heard. The tank is firing erratically as the White Fang swarm it, dropping grenades inside to blow it up from the inside. Blake's eyes turn to the losing Onyx Phantom, he clearly was not an effective Phantom from what she witnessed. The Lieutenant managed to cut the Phantom's arm off and then slashed it straight through his neck, his head falling from his shoulders. The body of the Onyx Phantom slumps to the ground, blood oozing from his corpse and the Lieutenant deactivates his chainsaw.

Blake is trying to wake Adam up but there is no answer. Until she turns to see a woman approaching her. She is tall with black hair and grey eyes. She has snake like eyes however with thin pupils inside of those eyes. "We can help him." She says. "My name is Sienna Khan." She announces. Blake sits there, shell-shocked from what just happened. But her eyes look over to one of the dead terrorists, and only now does she understand what she saw on him that day. He has a tattoo on his neck.

The same tattoo as the Acolytes of Lien.

He woke days later, but his vision never returned.

Blake never left his side, he lost his parents that night, but thanks to the intervention of the White Fang they managed to stop the attack from getting any worse. Blake looks at him nervously. "Adam? Adam?" She stammers as she sits beside him, touching his hand as she looks at him. He says nothing, emotionally broken from everything he lost that night, from humans. He tenses his hands into fists, he cannot see but he can hear everything around him. Blake turns, seeing Sienna Khan approaching them both with her hands behind her back as she walks over to his bedside.

"Hello, Mr Adam Taurus." She greets as she approaches. Adam looks in the direction he heard her voice but he cannot see her.

"Who are you?" He asks her.

"My name is Sienna Khan, I am the second in command of the White Fang." She says to Adam, answering his question for him. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, and for what happened to you. We received a tip that these humans were planning on overthrowing the leader of the White Fang, Miss Belladonna's father." Sienna explains to him, but there is nothing left but hate in him. "If there is anything you need -" Before she can even finish, he interrupts her.

"Where is Wilt and Blush?" He questions. She looks at him and then at Blake for an answer.

"His father's sword." Blake tells Sienna. "Red blade."

"Ah yes, we have acquired it. It is waiting for you, would you like it returned?" She asks him.

"I want to train with it, to learn how to fight." Adam explains.

"Adam, you cannot see." She says to him.

"My father always told me that there could be a time of which where you cannot rely on a single skill...that concept still applies here. The Humans must pay for everything that has transpired here." He snarls in anger.

That moment is what lead to the beginning of the Adam Taurus that the world knows him for today.

As the years passed, he and Blake trained together, he taught her everything his father taught him. They watched each other grow, the mask became a facade that could hide the true person that is underneath. He learned how to see more than one with their own vision could see. Blake grew older, became the beautiful girl she is today who resembles so much of her mother and father, and she watched as his bloodthirsty nature corrupted the love that formed between them both. And his lust for watching the species of mankind die out made him fall in love with the idea of the White Fang, instead of Blake herself.

And now...

He has no choice but to side with the very race that Blake left him for.

Every villain is created through some form of suffering.

No matter what.


	10. There Was A Crooked Man...

**Blake**

“After that, he taught me what his father taught him.” Blake concludes to Sun as he sits beside her, listening to every word that she has told him. His large blue eyes gazing into her amber ones. Across the room from them is Adam, resting from his wounds he suffered from Kassius – or Mr Hyde – in the emergency room. He is currently hooked up to Life Support; the constant beeping of the heart monitor can be heard from over there. Sun holds her hand, supporting her through those traumatic memories that she has just told him about. “We worked together and as I grew older...I started to see that I was on the wrong side. I wanted equality, even after what happened. Just because a few humans attacked us, it doesn’t mean the entire species is just like them.” Blake explains, like she is reliving a discussion she had with Adam years ago. “But he never saw it that way, every human he has ever met has only brought back the painful memories of what he lost that day.” Blake says to Sun.

The Wukong boy exhales as he looks down at the table, thinking all of this information over. “The men that attacked Menagerie...they were the Acolytes of Lien?” Sun presumes, remarking on what she mentioned, about the tattoos on their necks. Blake nods as she looks at him.

“Now that I know who they are, it makes sense. Thinking about it, this could have been part of this master plan of theirs.” Blake says with a laugh containing awe at the enemy’s tactics.

“What do you mean?” Sun asks, tilting his head at her.

“Well think about it: they show up and slaughter a bunch of innocent Faunus, kill Adam’s parents, aimed to kill my parents, his hunger for revenge makes him change the White Fang into a band of monsters that are hell-bent on killing humanity as a whole. It would make sense, turn them into monsters so then they help Cinder destroy Beacon.” Blake theorizes as she sits there, thinking all the facts through her head. And as she thinks about it, her theory does make a whole lot of sense; even Sun can see it now.

The Acolytes of Lien have been a piece in this game for a very long time; it’s almost scary from how long they have been a part of it. Salem’s plan has been thought out for a very long time, longer than the birth of the teams themselves. “We’re outmatched in all of this.” Sun sighs as he scratches his cheek. Blake looks at him with confused eyes.

“What do you mean?” Blake asks.

“If Salem has had this plan going on this long? Then she must have contingencies.” Sun says, using his logic, which cannot be argued.

“She has the upper hand, but we’re not giving up.” Blake tells him.

“Oh I’m not giving up, I just prefer it when the odds are in our favour a little more, you know?” Sun states, and even she cannot argue with that. She nods and she sits tight, like a cat with her legs bent back on the sofa.

“I know...we just have to keep on fighting...it’s what you and I do.” She says to him, clutching his hand as she sits next to him and she rests against his chest, closing her eyes as she wraps her arm around him. Sun smiles, leaning back and lying down on the sofa as she snuggles into him, his arm bent behind his head. She has finally become comfortable with the idea of being with him in this way, no more beating around the bush. Something about the Knights of Grimm and an impending doom has really put things in perspective for them all, to take the chances to be together while they still can. Because the Knights are nothing like anything they have faced before, other enemies have been able to show some form of mercy that they could survive from. Luck has always been on their side.

But not with these guys, they will tear them apart and walk away without regretting one second of it. Sun wraps his arm around the feline girl that he loves so much and he kisses the top of her head. “Yeah we do, and I won’t be going anywhere, not any time soon.” He promises. A smile forms on her face as she holds him.

“But...yeah...that’s everything you didn’t know about me.” She concludes as she looks up at him. Sun smirks and snorts.

“With you I doubt that that’s _everything_.” He says with a smile, and that makes Blake giggle. Sun’s tail grabs onto a mug and he takes a quick sip from the warm coffee inside. “But you don’t owe me any explanation.” He says to her. But Blake sighs with a firm shake of her head as she sits up from him again.

“No, I treated you terribly back at Menagerie, I lied and I tried to push you away.” She moans as she buries her head in her hands. Sun sighs when he sees her acting this way again.

“You’re not seriously still mad about all of that are you?” Sun asks her.

“You were only trying to help and I was being a nasty brat...” She sighs, but she doesn’t expect to hear what Sun says next.

“That’s why I stayed, hell that’s why I liked you in the first place.” Sun confesses as he characteristically shrugs his shoulders casually. Blake’s ears rise up and she looks at him.

“Huh?” Blake asks with a sweet increase in the pitch of her tone, butterflies flying around in her sternum.

“You’re hard to get, and I like that about you.” He says to her. Sun sits up next to her, still looking at her large amber coloured irises. “When I first met you, you always stood out amongst the rest of Team R.W.B.Y. Yeah there was Yang and Weiss, Ruby’s a little young for my taste.” He says with a jokey smirk which makes Blake giggle. “But I always felt something about you, and it wasn’t just because of your looks or even that I guessed that you were really a Faunus without the silly bow. It was the look in your eyes, like you have seen similar things as I did. I only just left Vacuo when I got to Vale, after...” Sun explains before pausing, his parents coming to mind and Blake gently touches his cheek.

“I know.” She tenderly says as she touches his cheek. Sun takes the opportunity in the moment that they are sharing, reaching forward to hold the back of her neck and she pulls herself in as she and he share an affectionate kiss. They close their eyes as they kiss, embracing the loving moment together. Sun gently moves his fingers through the black hair of the Belladonna and Blake holds onto him tight. They break their kiss, noses touching and they press their foreheads against one another warmly. Blake titters into his mouth as they kiss once more, wanting their time together to last forever.

While they share their moment, Nora is about to walk into the room and she sees them together. A smile forms on her face, feeling happy for the two as they can be comfortable around each other. Ren is stood behind her and she looks back at him with a smile. “About time, the tension was killing me.” Nora whispers as they turn and walk away from the room.

The love birds, or love Faunus, break the kiss, looking into one another’s eyes. But when they sit there, they both turn to the monitor that is beeping in the other room where Adam is. Blake looks at him; she can see him where the door is partially open. He is stable still, bruised and hurt from what Kassius managed to do to him when Mr Hyde took over. “We, uh...don’t have anything to worry about with him, right?” Sun asks her. Blake smiles when she looks at him.

“Oh no, there is no longer anything romantic between us...but I do worry about him...I don’t know why he is here.” Blake says to Sun, her arms still around him as they both look at him.

“Maybe he’s had a change of heart?” Sun suggests.

“Maybe...I don’t know...whatever the reasons are...he will tell us when he wakes up.” Blake says. But she turns to him and turns his face back to her. “Until then...I’m keeping you right where I want you.” She whispers with a smile. Sun smirks.

“I won’t argue.” He says, kissing her once again.

 

**Yang**

Yang walks through the halls of the Tribe Fortress in the mountains of Mistral, and she turns when she hears the sound of someone speaking to themselves. She pauses and looks into one of the rooms, seeing Kassius there with his cybernetic fingers pinching his brow. She can’t really make out what it is that he is saying under his breath, but it sounds something along the lines of, _get out of my head, get out of my head._ Over and over again.

Yang quietly approaches the door and she knocks it to get his attention. He gasps, turning to look at her, he still has bags under his eyes and she asked him to get some rest. Clearly that has not gone according to plan. There is a faint flicker of red in his blue irises but as soon as he looks at her, the red light stops flickering and the discomfort seems to go away. “Yang?” Kassius says. “Can I help you?” He asks her, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“I thought you were asleep.” Yang presumed. Kassius groans.

“I wasn’t joking when I was talking about my inability to sleep.” He says with a sigh.

“Why don’t I talk to the medics? Prescribe you some sleeping pills? They must have them.” Yang assumes.

“No, no...it’s not that simple. The medication that I had was called Mycocrone, designed for cases like mine. It essentially blocks off most of my mind so then I cannot be affected. It does have effects, like the inability to remember certain things at times or my sense of smell is affected. Hell...some days I can go blind.” Kassius explains his extremely flawed drug. “But it’s better than risking Hyde taking over my mind.” Kassius sighs. He sits there and Yang sits down beside him, placing her hand on his knee as she smiles.

He looks at her with afraid eyes. “Yang...” He starts and she listens. “How many people got hurt when he –”

“Don’t.” Yang sharply dismisses as she presses her finger to his lips. “Don’t start thinking that way, Kas. This is Mr Hyde, this is his messed up mind and nothing you could have done to stop him.” Yang explains.

“Not exactly, I still would have kicked his arse for what he did to you. He just agreed and took it one step further...and then Ilia.” Kassius growls in anger when he thinks of her. She holds him by the cheek so then he is looking into her eyes.

“Listen to me – you do not need to blame yourself. The others are coming to terms with it, believe me.” Yang promises.

Kassius sighs as he looks at the floor. “Stupid Semblance, couldn’t be as simple as what I used to lie about, huh?” He chuckles. He once lied about his semblance by saying that his semblance was that he had enhanced senses, but that was all a smokescreen to hide the truth so people wouldn’t abandon him from fear.

Yang looks down at the floor with him.

Yang’s attention turns to a drawing on his bedside table and it looks like a pair of legs, most of the drawing is covered up by the piles of files that are stacked atop it. For whatever reason. “What’s this?” Yang asks him as she takes it out, and she looks at it as she removes it. It is a very good drawing; it seems Kassius is a skilled artist as well.

“It’s Mr Hyde...in my nightmares I have seen what he looks like.” Kassius explains as she looks at it.

Mr Hyde is very different to what Yang was expecting; she was expecting some sort of Diablo looking thing. But it is nothing of the sort; it looks like some sort of trickster. He wears a black top hat that has red stripes through the middle of it. He has glowing red eyes and a cunning smirk on his face. He holds the hat off his head theatrically like he is politely taking it off to someone. The sketch also reveals that he is quite a skinny man but is very tall with long arms, one and holds a cane, similar to Melodic Cudgel that Roman Torchwick once used before being swallowed whole by a Griffin. He wears a large black and red suit with a black tie and white shirt underneath it, buttoned up. He also has black and red dress trousers and black dress shoes. The sketch shows him in an animation like he is skipping along, performing to people.

It’s like he is a magician or a Jester.

The smirk however shows the cunning and evil side to him along with the glowing red eyes under the shadow of the top hat that covers his eyes.

He is truly scary looking, and this is the physical body of the thing that attacked Adam earlier. The voice that came out of Kassius’ mouth when under his control also looks like it belongs to this sketch, this terrifying looking being. “Well...at least we have a face to the thing that is haunting you.” Yang sighs as she sets it down on the table.

“He’s such a prick.” Kassius chuckles as he sits back on his bed and lies back down, head on his pillow and he rubs his eye with his human hand.

“Still trying to get control?” Yang asks him, sitting by his feet.

“Not so much get control...he just won’t quit talking.” He says.

“Talking?” Yang asks.

“Yep. He won’t just shut up.” Kassius groans.

“Is he talking right now?” Yang asks him curiously.

“Yep.” He responds again.

“What’s he saying?” Yang asks him with a smile. The eagerness of Yang surprises Kassius and causes him to give her a confused look. Yang looks back at him with the same look, mirroring the exact expression. “What?” Yang asks with a nervous laugh.

“You are taking this extraordinarily well.” Kassius states.

“I care, and if there are two minds in there...” Yang says, gently tapping the side of his head with her finger. “Then I would like to know what they are both thinking.” Yang says. Kassius groans when he listens to what the voice inside his head is saying to him.

“He is – paying some compliments towards you.” Kassius says, and he is clearly being more modest than anything.

“Really?” Yang asks with a suspicious tone.

“Not joking.” Kassius immediately responds, before revealing something about Hyde. “He was never like that around Vetra, he was always...accusing.” Kassius reveals as he looks at her. Yang looks at him with a surprised expression.

“What do you mean...accusing?” Yang asks. He closes his eyes and he listens to whatever it is that Mr Hyde is saying to him in his head.

“He says...that he has always admired you...and felt that she was taking me from you.” Kassius translates and Yang gasps in shock.

“Are you saying that...he was trying to keep you from leaving?” Yang asks him. Kassius pauses and he sighs, nodding his head up and down. “Mr Hyde is strange, he will be aggressive and put the worst thoughts possible in my head...but he will always look out for my betterment. I guess maybe because we are part of the same body, he wants to retain his existence?” Kassius presumes.

“But what does that have to do with me?” Yang asks.

“I don’t know, but I have never heard him say anything negative about you. Strange stuff, but never negative. Most of the time it’s just him being...well...a little perverted if I’m gonna be honest.” Kassius admits with a chuckle, which also makes Yang giggle a little bit. “Come to think of it...he has never done anything like that around any of you, Ruby and your dad included.” He explains.

“But not Qrow?” Yang asks.

“Well, I haven’t seen that much of him. So neither has Hyde.” Kassius answers with a shrug. He starts to shudder a little, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck go ridged. “Hold on...” He whispers, and Yang becomes concerned, looking at him on the bed as he touches the back of his neck on the pillow.

“Kas? Are you okay?” Yang asks him.

“He’s trying to get control again...” He winces.

But when he is talking, suddenly his body becomes ridged and he creates a strange groaning sound. His eyes close and his body bolts upright, twitching as he moves. Yang gasps, stepping off his bed, looking at Kassius as he seems possessed. He slowly opens his eyes up, and they are glowing red, intensely bright as well. His veins are glowing faintly red, not as aggressively as before. Kassius’ body stretches his arms out and he hops off from his bed with energy he did not seem to have before. He kicks the door shut and spins on his toes to face the intimidated Yang Xiao Long.

Kassius smirks, the same smirk that the drawing had. “Well...we finally get to meet in person Yang.” Mr Hyde greets, acting like he takes his hat off and bows forward to her. His voice is exactly the same as it was the last time they met; his voice is unnatural with multiple different voices combined in one tongue as he speaks. His voice sounds like he is either growling or hissing as he speaks. Yang immediately stands up, readying her cybernetically built Ember Celica to fight him if he must. But Mr Hyde makes Kassius hold his hands up defensively as he walks around his bedroom that he has claimed. “No threat here, at least not to you.” Mr Hyde promises as he makes him walk around, screeching like metal fatigue in his tone.

“Why?” Yang questions as she glares at him.

“Why I have seen how he feels about you, and those feelings have never changed.” Mr Hyde promises as he walks around, kicking his feet up in the air as he walks like a theatrical actor. Yang stares at him.

“Why me? Why did you not trust Vetra?” Yang interrogates.

“I am always here for his betterment; she was getting in the way of what you and him can possibly have.” Mr Hyde explains, holding his hands out to her like it was obvious. “She would have ruined that for you both, so I aimed to – guide him where necessary.” Mr Hyde adds.

“That was not for you to decide.” Yang opposes, shaking her head at him as he makes Kassius walk around the room. Mr Hyde looks at her with an astounded visage when he stops walking.

“You’re defending the girl that could have taken this from you?” Mr Hyde chuckles as he gestures to his own body.

“If he chose her over me then I would have been fine with it, we all make our choices.” Yang says, showing how kind she is, and also how much she loves Kassius since she would happily give up her own happiness if he was happy. Yet he would do the exact same thing for Yang if it had the same outcome. Mr Hyde chuckles as he walks again, flicking Kassius’ finger around like he has a cane in his finger, looping it through.

“You truly do have a heart of gold, don’t you? Both of you do.” Mr Hyde says to her. Yang looks at Hyde curiously. “You and your sister, I have always admired how much you have been there for him; the same goes for your father. You have always looked after both of us.” Mr Hyde says to her.

“So that is why you haven’t caused him any issues when I we were around him?” Yang inquires.

“Indeed.” Mr Hyde answers.

“Then why did you attack the others? I get why you took over when you both saw Adam but why did you attack Sun and Winter?” Yang asks him.

“They attacked first, I gave them ample warning.” Mr Hyde states.

“Yes, but you didn’t attack me.” Yang points out.

“You see, I have not had much time to figure out if I can trust them. He is too trusting, I am not. I will punish him if I must to make him realise, place my own thoughts into his mind to make him figure out the truth. The world is not as nice as you may believe.” Mr Hyde explains.

“Oh, trust me I know that.” Yang promises.

“That’s easy for you to say.” Mr Hyde says. “I have been a part of him since he was a baby, and he has been treated differently for years.” Mr Hyde continues.

He stands there, and Yang is surprised by how much reason Mr Hyde is showing her, but as they have both said. He is honest to her because he trusts her. He looks through the window and then back at Yang. “Allow me to teach you – ever heard of the Crooked Man?” Mr Hyde asks her, tilting Kassius’ head as he approaches.

“I’ve heard the song.” Yang answers.

Mr Hyde chuckles, and he begins to sing it in his creepy voice.

“There was once a Crooked Man, and he walked a crooked mile...” Mr Hyde sings as he walks, his version sounds far more sinister than the gentle children’s merry-go-rhyme. Yang knows that Mr Hyde is cunning, and that he must be acting all nice towards her for his own evil purposes. His eyes and actions have already shown that he is not a good soul. Even if he does care and even if he is looking out for Kassius’ health. “...he found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile...” He continues as he walks around. “He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.” Mr Hyde continues to sing, walking around Yang as she stands there, never feeling so afraid of the man she loves until now. “And they all lived together in a little crooked house.” He concludes as he stops by the bed, looking at her.

Yang looks at Mr Hyde with confused lilac eyes. “What? What is your point?” Yang asks, confused of what that song was supposed to represent. Until he continues the song, despite that the Rhyme is supposed to end right there. He looks out at the land outside as he carries on, his eyes rising up to the Fractured Moon.

“But the Crooked Man grew sad...and cold...and once, he had a thought.” Mr Hyde speaks, his finger rising up which makes Yang jump as sharply as he does it. He slowly turns to face her, still speaking the rhyme. “Why should _he_ be crooked, when others – they were not?” Mr Hyde snarls as he turns and stares her in the eyes as he speaks, the crooked smirk still on his face. “And so...the Crooked Man set out to make himself a Crooked Remnant, Crooked Humans and Faunus, Men and Women, Children and Dogs, Cats and Mice.” He lists as he approaches Yang slowly. His eyes glow bright red and his veins begin to glow red, brighter and brighter as he becomes more aggressive, revealing the true sadistic and cunning nature of Mr Hyde. He is charming, and his mistrust around everyone but Yang, Ruby and Tai is so strong that he will make Kassius suffer from his own paranoia.  “Buried in dirt...” He growls. “And the Crooked Man stepped forth and rang the crooked bell – and thus his crooked soul – _Spiralled_ – into a crooked hell!” Mr Hyde exclaimed, his bipolar voice becoming deep and monstrous when he says the word _spiralled_ and his eyes glow bright red upon saying the word as well. Yang’s breath pants harder and harder. “Murdered his crooked family and laughed a crooked laugh!” Mr Hyde laughs maniacally as he gets closer to Yang, pinning her against the bedside table, staring straight into her eyes as he speaks. “You pitiful people all must suffer – my crooked wrath.” He growls with sinister intent. He reaches towards her cheek to kiss her but Yang pushes him away, scared of what Mr Hyde could have done if she didn’t.

Kassius’ body staggers away from Yang and Mr Hyde looks at her with a confused expression. Yang now understands the point he is making.

Because his semblance is different to most, because Mr Hyde is an enigma to all of Remnant, they are all treated like monsters. So why bother hiding what you are? And slaughter all that would bring torment upon you?

The thinking of a monster in the body of a person who is anything but. Yang points at him. “Enough!” She shouts, gritting her teeth and Mr Hyde looks at her with a confused expression, he is born to be evil and he does not understand anything other than that. Only Yang makes him feel something other than what he is. “Get out of his head! He needs to get sleep! If you really care about him, you will get out of his head and give him a full night’s sleep! If you truly feel the same way as he does...then do as I say and leave him alone.” Yang demands as she glares at him.

Mr Hyde sighs as he looks at her, looking down at the floor. “As you wish.” He huffs as he jumps onto the bed, nearly breaking it from the landing, squeaking the joints, bouncing it up and down. He crosses one leg over the other.

Yang waits and it feels like it is an eternity.

Until Kassius gasps, his eyes bursting open when he is released by Mr Hyde, holding the side of his head. He turns and looks at Yang who is still in the corner where Mr Hyde pinned her when using the rhyme of the Crooked Man to convey his point. Kassius stammers when he looks at the golden girl in the corner. “What did I do?” He asks her with a scared voice.

“Nothing...he just took over to talk to me.” Yang promises as she walks over to him, holding his hands. He calms his breathing down as he looks at her.

“He let me go...I can’t hear him...” Kassius stammers.

“Well, I did shout at him.” Yang admits with a little laugh.

“And he listened?” Kassius questions with awe.

“Yeah, he was going on about the Crooked Man...I think I understand Hyde a little better now.” Yang says with a sarcastic chuckle.

“He did, huh? He does like that Rhyme.” He sighs as he wipes the sweat from his forehead.

“Yeah...he does.” Yang shudders as she thinks about what he was gonna force Kassius to do.

_He really puts his welfare first alright._

**Qrow**

Qrow walks over to Raven who is stood on the balcony with her Odachi leant against the railing. Her long black hair blows in the wind. She turns when she senses that he is near and she looks at him. “Hello, brother.” She greets. Qrow sighs as he presses the sword against the railing, standing beside his sister.

“Some night.” He sighs, thinking about what happened with Mr Hyde and Kassius, attacking Adam like that.

“Some night.” She agrees. “I never knew that Kassius was like that.” She says with surprise.

“Neither did I.” Qrow agrees.

“Do you think Yang is safe with him?” Raven asks him, but Qrow nods upon looking at his sister.

“When Hyde was in control, he never touched Yang. He couldn’t.” Qrow assures and that does fill his sister with some hope that her baby girl is safe with that boy.

“I can’t imagine what that must be like.” Raven says.

“Well, we kind of can. You were luckier than most.” Qrow says, looking at her. Raven looks at him and she scoffs, rolling her eyes as she rises back up.

“It’s not the same...our semblances aren’t the same as his curse, we don’t have to suffer with an evil alternate personality all the time. One that could just take control whenever he gets angry, or perhaps whenever he feels like it.” Raven says as she crosses her arms, looking at Qrow. Qrow huffs as he stands there, pressing his hands upon the cold concrete railing.

“Any hints on where to find Ruby?” Qrow asks.

“None.” Raven answers.

“Goddammit.” He growls in anger, hitting the railing with his palm.

“The Architect is our best bet. When he comes back we will go with him and see what he can tell us. From what you guys told me, he wants to help find Ruby anyway.” Raven states.

“I know, but we need you there. With having me there on my own puts them at risk, we need to both be there to balance the odds.” He says. Raven looks at him with conflicted eyes, but she knows that he is right. A sigh of frustration escapes her lungs.

“We need to talk to Sienna, she will be waking up soon.” She says to him.

“What about the Spring Maiden?” He asks her. She shakes her head.

“She’s not dead is she?” Qrow asks with a worried tone of voice.

“I don’t know, she went missing when we were extracting Khan.” Raven reports, turning to her brother, her hand gently touching her sword. “Do you think the Knights will kill her?” Raven asks.

“No...Death is smarter than that, so’s Fear. They know that if they kill her, the soul of the Maiden will go somewhere else. Unless they have someone in line like Cinder, then they won’t kill her just yet.” Qrow explains to her.

“This is all such a mess.” Raven sighs as she scratches her hair.

“When isn’t it?” Qrow questions.

They both stand there, looking out at the land of Mistral, the smoke has started to disappear from the ruins of Mistral and the Grimm have left. Meaning that there is no one left to kill.

All they can do now is wait for someone to tell them Sienna is up.

Or for the Architect to return.


	11. Meeting the Master

**Winter**

The older Schnee Girl is sat down beside Weiss. Weiss holds Myrtenaster in her hands, thinking to herself as she remains there. They both turn when they see Sun and Blake walking in after their talk that they had. Finally able to be more comfortable with their feelings, they are holding hands as they walk in. Weiss smiles when she sees Blake being able to have more emotions than just regret or fear in her life. She can finally feel love. “About time those two decided to do something about their tension.” Weiss scoffs as she sits there. Winter smiles as she sees her little sister there, since she is also one who has become more open after meeting Neptune.

“What about you, sister?” Winter asks her with an arched eyebrow, a smirk on her face. Weiss looks at her sister with a tense face.

“What do you mean?” She sharply rebuts, acting all proper again, opposed to the previous position that she was in. Winter laughs a little at how she answered that way, it was all she needed.

“Have you and Neptune decided that you want to be _together-together_?” Winter asks her curiously. Weiss starts to stutter when she attempts to form a correctly structured answer to that question.

“Well – I – I don’t really know if we should – um, you know.” She stammers, looking up at her sister. Winter looks at Neptune who is looking over some maps with Yang and Ren, trying to triangulate any clues to find out where Ruby could have been taken. Despite everything he used to do to make himself look cool, when the chips are down he will do whatever it takes to help his friends. As all of Team S.S.S.N would. Winter smiles and she admits something that even Weiss doesn’t see coming.

“I like him.” She tells her, stopping Weiss in her tracks, and she looks at her sister.

“Wait...what?” She asks.

“I didn’t think he was good enough for you, at first...but when I saw how hard he fought even though he was crippled. How he would literally do anything for your happiness?” Winter explains to her. “That is what love really is.” Winter promises with a warming smile. Weiss smiles back and she gently hits the side of her head as she always does. “I say go for it...with everything that has been going on lately? I think you’ve earned a distraction.” Winter says with a laugh, clearly referencing when Death stabbed her.

“You really think so?” Weiss asks curiously.

“Of course I do.” Winter responds.

But before she can continue, she hears the strange sound of her scroll vibrating. Scrolls have not been working for years since the Fall of Beacon, and now with Mistral’s down as well. This is making the situation even worse for the whole Remnant. And yet, despite all of these factors, her scroll has just received a message. Weiss looks at her sister quizzically, since she knows that it shouldn’t be possible for that to happen either. Winter reaches over to it on the table and she grabs it, picking it up and opening the message that she has received.

It’s short but informed.

_Winter,_

_Ironwood has been imprisoned by your father,_

_Whitley is working on something called Project: Deimos,_

_Jacques is working a coup on the council._

_Something is happening at Atlas._

_Watch yourself out there._

  * _The Maestro_



And that is it, the message ends there. Winter gasps when she reads this information, from an unknown user but the information is quite chilling. That Jacques Schnee is attempting a coup against the Council. Winter looks at Weiss and she gasps, reading the message as well. “Who sent it?” Weiss asks.

“I don’t know.” Winter answers, searching for anything else on the message, but there is nothing to find a real name. Weiss clenches her hand into a fist, scowling at the message when she looks at the name of her cruel father.

“I knew he was planning something...” Weiss snarls. “He was always so mad of Ironwoods plans and ideals...I guess it was only a matter of time before he did something about it.” Weiss huffs, crossing her arms as she looks away from the Scroll. Winter glares at the message and she slams her Scroll down on the table.

“My instincts kept on telling me not to trust Atlas...” Winter hisses.

“What do you mean?” Weiss asks her.

“I think I might know what Whitley has been planning.” Winter begins. “He has always had the idea that he could be the best descendant of the Schnees, that he could run both the business and become a symbol of strength. So he wanted to make a suit, like the Giant Armour your faced but one that he could wear. One that could be unstoppable and none would get in their way.” Winter explains to her and Weiss clenches her hand into a fist from anger, she has always hated the little brat, but now she sees his true colours.

“So he was jealous...” Weiss realises, remembering when she asked him if he was jealous of his sisters’ abilities.

“He was always the different one in the family, more like his father.” Winter sighs, touching her forehead with her hand.

They both sit there, after reading that message; they feel like they should be back there at Atlas, stopping their father. But they can’t, they need to put Ruby first at all times. She would do it for them.

 

**Raven**

Raven and Qrow both walk through a set of double doors. Before them is a woman in a bed, she has aged since two people here have seen her, but her serpent-like eyes open when the doors open. She is still hooked up to life support and there is a bandage across her side, recently replaced for her health. She still looks pretty battered from whatever she survived, from what has been said, it is probably the Knights of Grimm. She groans in pain, sitting upright slowly to look at them. “Never thought a human would rescue me.” Sienna laughs when she sits upright. She presses her hand to her side, wincing in pain as she moves, looking at the two Branwens that have come here to speak with her.

“You owe us some answers.” Raven states as she crosses her arms, looking down at them.

“To what questions?” Sienna groans, gritting her teeth.

“What changed? You were all gunning to take down the Schools with Cinder, now you are been hunted down like flies.” Qrow questions as he walks over to her side. Her hair is now a reddish brown, most likely has changed the colour over the years. She leans against the back of the bed, exhaling as she looks back.

“I don’t exactly know why they have started hunting us, I feel Adam might know more than me.” Sienna states.

“Adam is currently unconscious after the beating one of our friends made him suffer through, after what he did to my niece.” Qrow snarls, tightening his clenched fist. Things are still quite rocky with the relationship with the White Fang. But Raven stops him from doing anything rash, ironic considering the roles has been reversed. But with his baby girl’s life on the line, he needs to have some answers. To any question that could possibly give a hint to where they are holding her. They cannot wait for the Architect to return forever.

“Look...” Sienna sighs as she sits up. “...I’m sorry for what happened, but I never sanctioned the attack on Beacon. Adam did that on his own accord, I only found out about the attack when it happened. I never wanted war, hell I never wanted the White Fang to be as aggressive as it has become. Adam’s lust for revenge for what happened to his parents...and to him...it made him become a monster.” Sienna clarifies to the twins.

“You haven’t answered the question, Khan.” Raven sharply points out with her arms crossed. Sienna stares at her and then rolls her serpentine eyes.

“I don’t know what changed.” Sienna repeats. “A man called Hazel Rainart came to meet me, he was making sure if I was still loyal to the cause that Adam dragged us into. I told him that I would think about it. Move a few weeks later, there was chaos, something lead an attack on my people. I could hear tonnes of brothers and sisters either crying or screaming in the town below my home. They were babbling on about worst memories, worst fears and tragic moments in their lives appearing before them.” Sienna Khan explains.

Qrow looks at Raven. “Fear and Loss.” He states, recognising the diagnosis of the attack. Raven nods, remembering some of the abilities that they have.

“One with a Tonfa slashed me, she nearly killed me but she left me to bleed out. That’s when Raven and her people found us and took the survivors in.” Sienna concludes, looking at the bandage on her side, gasping from the razor sharp pain that came from the slash wound.

“Sounds like you gave Salem the wrong answer.” Raven scoffs.

“Salem? Who the hell is that” Sienna probes, revealing that she did not even know about Salem at first. She only heard of the cause.

“She is our real enemy right now. We don’t know what she is or who she is, for that matter, but whoever the hell she is; she’s dangerous and wants the Relics to change the world forever.” Qrow tells her in a shortened version.

“And what do the Knights of Grimm have to do with it?” Sienna asks them both. Qrow looks at his sister, and now they are the ones who a lacking an answer.

“We’re still trying to figure that part out.” Qrow sighs, scratching the back of his neck.

“All we know about them is that they have been returning slowly, we don’t know exactly of when they started to return and to be honest we don’t have a certain idea of where they came from. We can only rely on myths.” Raven explains to Sienna. Sienna looks at something on the table for a second and then back at them.

“Look, if what you say is true, then it feels like I am inclined to help you stop her. For the betterment of all life on Remnant.” Sienna states. She then reaches over to the piece of paper on the table which has been folded up. “But I should warn you, not everyone is feeling the same way, because they have a new leader.” Sienna states, handing the piece of paper to Qrow.

Qrow reads the letter aloud.

_“Sienna Khan,_

_I am writing to you about the White Fang. After the attack on Menagerie and the other attacks across the world, I feel you should know about some developments. Adam has started to have a change of heart, he is realising that Humanity is not the real threat and we should start aiding the humans in stopping the Grimm after what Cinder Fall did. Lieutenant Mazus Grove has turned against Adam Taurus along with Fennec and Corsac Albain...I don’t know who to trust and I have decided to go on my own._

_I cannot be here, not with Kassius Locke being here as well. I need to stay hidden, but I am still loyal to our cause, no matter what. But Adam is right, I am loyal to him and I always will be. And Blake was right; the mistreatment of the Faunus must end._

_But not through war._

_The Lieutenant has taken the few White Fang that remain and he is continuing the war-heavy idea that Adam created in the first place._

_This Splinter Group could prove dangerous to you, Miss Khan. But this is no longer something that I wish to be a part of._

_I wish you well._

_Stay safe,_

_Yours Truly,_

_Ilia Amitola.”_

Qrow stops reading the letter aloud and it all seems to make more sense. That is why Adam seemed to come here alone, he has had a change of heart but the Lieutenant and the Albains have not. Qrow sighs as he folds it back up and puts it in his chest pocket in his shirt. “We can’t risk Kassius reading that. Any hint of her whereabouts could make him go off again.” Raven says to Qrow and he nods immediately.

“My thoughts exactly, we need him to stay focused on helping us find Ruby. We can’t let any personal vendettas get in the way.” Qrow sighs, even though he understands why he wants to kill her so much. If he sees that...if Mr Hyde sees that...they might not be able to get Kassius back.

“The girl...Ruby Rose.” Sienna Khan presumes as she looks at Qrow, he turns and looks at her.

“Do the Knights have her?” Sienna asks.

“Yes, do you know anything?” Qrow asks desperately, but Sienna just shakes her head.

“If Death has her, Qrow...I’m afraid...you really don’t stand a chance.” Sienna says. Qrow smirks.

“I’ve cheated him before, so can she.” Qrow assures, turning and walking away from Khan, leaving her in the hospital bed, and Raven follows him.

“Do you have a plan to take him down?” Raven asks curiously.

“I have something in the works.” He says.

“What?” Raven inquires, causing Qrow to stop.

“When I was fighting him in Mistral, he stumbled under a lamppost that was on. The light made him weaker. Remember when we fought him and we couldn’t do a dent? That was because he was in the darkness, the darkness makes him regenerate.” Qrow explains, and Raven stops.

“And you think that Summer’s light destroyed him?” Raven asks, bringing that moment up again, a moment that none of them can possibly understand.

“Maybe...I still can’t wrap my head around that.” He sighs. Raven smiles as she gently places her hand against his chest where his heart is, and he looks at her.

“She’s still with us, with you, in here.” She assures with a gentle smile. Raven has really changed; the realisation that she is no longer the strongest has really put things in perspective for her.

“I know...” He sighs, closing his eyes.

 

**Jaune**

His disappearance after Mistral has still left many questions unanswered. But he sits there, holding Crocea Mors in his hand, running his fingers across the metal blade. There are a hundred things on his mind right now.

_Where’s Ruby?_

_Why did the Architect bother saving me?_

_Pyrrha..._

But the main thought at this current moment in time is all surrounded around Crocea Mors and his own semblance, for somehow he managed to take out Loss in one swing, doing something that no one has been able to do. He managed to shatter her Tonfa when the blade hit his neck; his aura somehow blocked a Knight’s weapon. His semblance is powerful, whatever it is, and he cannot wrap his head around it.

But when he is sat there, he is suddenly tackled to the floor by an elated Nora Valkyrie, and Jaune screams as he is knocked off the chair that he was sat on, Crocea Mors landing on the floor with a metallic clank. Nora giggles with happiness, squeaking like a plushie toy as she kicks her feet around, hugging her friend. Ren is stood there and he sighs, crossing his arms as he looks at the happy Valkyrie that just tackled the Arc boy into the floor. She wraps her arms around him so tight that her strength starts to crack bones and he can’t breathe. “Nora – Can’t – Breathe.” He wheezes under her super-strong arms.

Nora peeps, releasing him and he gasps vigorously, inhaling air at the strength of a vacuum cleaner. “Sorry, Jaune.” She apologises with enthusiasm still in her voice. Ren offers his hand to Jaune, and Jaune takes the help, Ren pulls him up to his feet. Ren immediately hugs him as well, but not as crushingly as Nora did.

“We thought we lost you too.” Ren says to him. Jaune hugs him as well, as this is probably the first time they could actually talk to each other this way since the Fall of Mistral.

“I didn’t know if I would see you again.” He says quietly, trying not to cry like a baby and Ren smiles back. Jaune turns to the shorter Nora and he hugs her as well, she hugs him less aggressively this time. “You can thank the Architect for that.” He says.

“I think I’ll thank you...you saved Nora’s life. All of our lives.” Ren says to him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“When I realised they were yelling at you guys, I couldn’t follow the Architect’s plan any longer.” Jaune explains.

“What were you doing there?” Nora asks him curiously. Jaune doesn’t answer, but he knows that there is something. He turns and his eyes widen when he sees someone stood there. He regains his composure when he looks back at them.

“The Architect can brief you on that.” Jaune says.

They all look past him.

And the Architect is stood there, still wearing the Poncho as the portal closes behind him. His metal plates still got some sand staining the grey steel skin and the cogs inside are still rotating round as he moves. Like he’s breathing. His glowing blue optics look straight at them, and Nora calls the rest. “Guys! It’s the Architect!” Nora calls.

The Architect is patient, he waits for everyone to arrive, and pretty quickly everyone meets him in the room where they were having their moment with Jaune. The Architect stands tall, his optics looking at them all. “Are we all ready?” He asks them all. Raven walks over and she nods to one of her men.

“Call us if Adam wakes up.” Raven tells him.

“Yes, ma’am.” He says.

“We’re ready.” Yang enthusiastically promises. Kassius walks out and he already looks much better, fewer bags under his eyes now than there were before. Seems like Mr Hyde actually cut him some slack and let him have some good night’s sleep for once. The Architect waves his hand behind him and the air cracks and ripples as it creates a doorway. Inside is the next side, Yang looks into it and she can see something inside. It looks like a large table.

She takes the first few steps inside and she looks around, feeling the air becoming warmer when she enters the room. She looks around, her long blonde hair blowing in a sight draft that comes through the damaged ceiling where sunlight is breaking through. It is not entirely clear of where they are, but there are a series of huge statues stood inside. Blake and Weiss walk with her, the three members of team R.W.B.Y.

The Statues all wield swords, some wield Scythes and Hammers, all are different to each other but they all have the same style of armour and are stood in the same position, honourable knights. Yang’s eyes then look to the table in the centre of the huge room, there are some skeletons sat in the thrones, left where they died after all these years. Except for one person, who has his hands clasped together on the table.

He has a grey beard, wrinkles across his face and a head of grey hair. He is an old man who has a staff right beside him, one that is made from oak and metal by the looks of it. It is a lethal looking weapon but unlike theirs, it is simple and does not transform into anything. He remains still, and the rest of the heroic Huntsmen and Huntresses enter the room, the Architect walking in last. He closes the portal behind him, the portal collapses and vanishes behind Neptune and he looks back, seeing one statue behind him, on its knee with a sword pressed to the floor. “Hello?” Yang cautiously greets to the mysterious elder.

He looks up, looking straight at Yang, and he stands up. When he stands up, she immediately realises something about him that makes him important.

He has Silver Eyes.

He walks away from where he was sat and stands behind the chair, placing his hands upon it. “And so we meet at last...Miss Xiao Long.” He begins; he has a very powerful, wise and commanding voice. One that has seen many things in his years, and if he is a Silver Eyed Warrior, then it could make more sense to why he has taken an interest in her Sister. But why now?

“You know who I am?” Yang asks with a confused tone.

“I know all of you. From Blake Belladonna, the girl who was born into a Rebellion, to Weiss Schnee, the girl born into Wealth.” The man explains, and then he looks at Jaune who is stood behind the three girls. “And I know you as well, Jaune Arc. The boy who lied to become a hero and could not see the love of someone else until she passed.” He explains, like he can see who they are before him, like it is being read out to him. “Good to finally meet you, son...you have been helping my friend here well with his mission to find them.” The man says as he walks around the huge circular table, sliding his fingers across the metal, wiping the dust off it.

“What do you want with us?” Weiss asks him sharply, getting straight to the point. The man smiles as he walks closer.

“I seek the very same thing that you all seek.” He states. “Ruby Rose.” He says.

“Why?” Yang asks, sounding more and more like the protective older sister that she is.

“Because there has not been an opportunity like there is now since a time before Kingdoms...” He says, which makes them realise how important she truly is. “I’m sure you have noticed the colour of my eyes?” He presumes, pointing at them.

“You’re a Silver Eyed Warrior?” Qrow says.

“Indeed, Mr Branwen...indeed.” He says, walking around more, using his staff like a walking cane.

“What do you mean? That my sister is an opportunity?” Yang asks.

“The Silver Eyed Warriors have been a symbol of defiance against the Grimm for millennia, before we ever had Kingdoms. But since the downfall of our people, there has never been a powerful Silver Eyed One ever since. Even my powers are beginning to fade; when you have lived as long as I have it tends to. She is the youngest Silver Eyed Warrior in the history of Warriors to have ever unlocked their abilities as quickly as she did.” He explains to them all, making the point more and more clear.

Yang gasps when she realises, that when Pyrrha died that is when she managed to use the abilities. That means that it was at that moment that she became a Warrior, perhaps that is when this old man figured out that she exists. “What do you propose?” Raven asks him.

“I propose: an alliance.” He says to them, hitting his staff to the floor. “We both have similar goals, to find Ruby Rose. She is in the clutches of Salem but I know her very well, she will not kill Ruby. She sees her as a weapon, if she can have a Silver Eyed Warrior that young on her side, it will make her easier to corrupt.” He explains. “We must find her and I must teach her how to use her powers, it is not something that can be learned easily, she must learn to control her body and her emotions effectively.” He explains.

“Do you have any leads?” Yang asks eagerly.

The man smiles. “I do, come...follow me.” He encourages. But Yang stops him.

“Wait!” She calls. He stops and turns as the mechanical Architect walks with him. “Who are you?” Yang asks. He sighs, looking up at the cracked ceiling.

“I have had many titles over millennia...” He states. “The Old Wizard, the Silver Eyed Warrior...but you can call me Kragen Nox.” He answers.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby does not fully grasp the concept of how important she truly is to the world right now. But she is too weak to even think about it, recovering from the torment that Tyrian has been putting her through. She has a deep gash along her cheek that is slowly healing thanks to her aura, but it does not push away the horrific memory of how much pain she was in when he did it to her. She is curled up in a corner, hiding in the shadows, but she still has her bravery in her She does not cower, she remains in there, planning how to fight back when he comes back. She looks around and she can still use her semblance in here. She could use that against him when he returns.

Ruby is carving some things into the floor with a chipped piece of stone that came off from when Tyrian smashed her head into the wall when he hurt her. That hurt a lot, but not as much as losing her eye. That still hurts even now, with the bandage covering it. But she is not letting that get to her head. She is drawing out ways to escape. Oscar looks at her and he crawls up to the bars, clutching onto them. “Ruby.” He whispers to get her attention, but she ignores him, continuing to carve out a plan. “What are you doing?” He whispers.

“I’m gonna get some payback.” Ruby snarls.

“He’ll kill you.” He warns.

“He can try.” Ruby hisses. Ruby draws a stick figure of him walking into her cell and then she draws directions of where she could go, darting around him and then tackling him into the floor. She then starts to draw herself bashing his head into the wall over and over, her eyes flaring with anger and her teeth gritted. But the more she does the drawing, the more her hate begins to become apparent, and Oscar can see it.

“She won’t listen, Oscar.” Ozpin says to him.

“She has to.” Oscar replies. “Ruby, that guy is fast. You didn’t stand a chance against him when you faced him in Oniyuri, you said so yourself.” Oscar says.

“He caught us by surprise, this time I’ve got the upper hand.” She says to him.

“You want to risk that?” Oscar asks.

“Will you just shut up?” She suddenly erupts angrily, standing up and grabbing the bars, showing herself in the light. She fully shows the damage that Tyrian dealt to her in that recording. Her other eye has swollen up from the black bruise he gave her from the horrible punches that could be heard at the end of the recording. Bits of her black and red hair have been torn out and her lip is still bleeding a little. Who knows what bruises are under her blouse that she wears? “You have been able to walk away unscathed.” Ruby snarls, turning and walking away from the bars once more. Oscar looks away and he sighs, sitting against the wall.

She’s right, but seeing her crack like that is horrible.

It means that Tyrian’s torture is working because he is breaking her slowly. But her shout has alerted something, and they both hear the mad giggling as he approaches the two cells. The Scorpion Faunus emerges from the hallway and he looks at them both. “Ooh...are we having a fight?” He asks with curiosity. Ruby glares at the Faunus with furious hatred in her silver eye and he glares right back with a gritted smirk.

“When I get out of here...I promise you...I will kill you.” She promises. Tyrian gasps and then laughs, arching his back as he laughs to the sky, wiping a tear from his eye as he laughs. He walks up to the bars to hear her.

“Come closer, I don’t think I heard that.” He taunts with a giggle, his ear against the opening. Ruby glares at him. She stands up and walks towards him, her hand clenched into a fist. She approaches the bars, staring straight at him.

“I said: I am going to kill you.” She promises.

“How will you do it?” He asks her, taking his hand from his ear and holding the bars, staring right at her. Ruby glares right into those yellow eyes.

“I’m gonna let you think that I will save you, then I’ll cut off your hand and watch you scream as you fall to your death.” Ruby promises coldly, and her new personality that Tyrian is seeing makes him laugh with amazement, even feeling slightly threatened, but he would admit that.

“Wow...” He whispers as he looks at her. “Incredible.” He chuckles. But when he is there, he fails to notice Ruby getting closer to his finger wrapped around the bar.

“Yeah, it is.” She snarls, grabbing his finger and twisting it with force, creating a loud pop and he screams in agony, grabbing it. But he swiftly grabs Ruby by her wrist and slams her head into the bars three times forcibly. She yelps and he pushes her on the floor, grabbing his finger. Ruby has more bruises on her face now and her nose starts to bleed. She moans in pain but she does not regret doing that. He growls in pain and glares at her.

“You bitch!” He shouts, forcing his finger back in the correct place. “You’ve just made your day much, much worse!” He promises.

“Yeah...go ahead.” Ruby scoffs, and that catches Tyrian off guard from how quickly she said it. “Go ahead, and then run along to Salem and tell her that you got your finger broken by a little girl!” She shouts to rub salt in the wound. Tyrian glares at her and then a scowl of anger appears on his face.

“That’s it.” He snarls, extending his wrist blades to torture her further, but before he opens the door.

“Leave her alone!” Oscar bellows from behind him. Tyrian pauses and he looks over his shoulder at Oscar, staring straight at him.

“I’ve had it with our lip, boy!” He suddenly erupts as he storms towards his cell instead of Ruby’s. He opens the door and he lunges straight at him. Oscar closes his eyes and he shields his face with his hands, looking away. He expects the blades to hit at any moment.

But they never do.

There is a loud, unusual crack around them all and the blade never hits. He slowly opens his eyes and he looks at Tyrian. The blade has stopped right at his face and he can hear the scream of Tyrian paused in time. The ground is fractured around him, like the waves on an ocean passing through them. The shards bounce in the air and the body of Tyrian twitches in this frozen moment in time.

Bewildered, Oscar stands up and he looks at Tyrian. He has been frozen in time and he cannot move or even see. Oscar walks past him, completely confused of what is happening and he expects to hear Ruby talk to him. But she is frozen as well. “Professor?” Oscar hails, his voice echoes through the halls but Ozpin does not speak back to him. Something has happened; he is the only one who is able to walk around in this frozen landscape. He starts to walk down the hallway, leaving them both that are frozen and he looks in the other cells. There are other prisoners in here that have been captured, from Mistraalian to Valerian. “What – What the hell is this?” Oscar stammers as he walks through the halls.

He follows the halls and he finds himself in Salem’s Company, the hall where they all sit. Most of them are missing, only Watts is here. Salem is sat in her chair and she was speaking to Watts before this happened. He looks and he can hear the weird slurred sounds of their voices in this single frozen moment in time that only he can walk in. He shudders as he looks around.

He turns however when he hears someone speak. “So this is the secret you’ve been hiding from me.” Death says, and Oscar gasps when he sees Death stood there. The other Knights are here but they are also frozen in time. Only Death isn’t, he still stands there with his sword pressed down into the floor, his red eyes looking right at Oscar’s hazel coloured irises. But Oscar has no idea of what he is talking about.

“What...what do you mean?” Oscar stammers.

“Your semblance.” Death states, his hand highlighting the odd fractured environment that they stand in. “It seems that you have an ability to manipulate time.” Death tells him with legitimate wonderment in his voice. And yet here he is, able to move in this frozen moment with Oscar.

“Then how can you move?” Oscar questions.

“Death is not bound by time; it can happen at any moment.” Death answers as he stands there and Oscar looks away from him, looking over at Salem as she speaks.

“So what, then? You’re gonna kill me?” Oscar asks him.

“No.” Death answers, and that answer truly surprised him.

“Why?” Oscar asks.

“It is not your time.” Death states, as he always tends to. But then the Archangel points Ferrum Arctus at Oscar. “But you should return to your cell while you still can.” Death assures. “Because I am not the one you would have to fear.” He says, looking at Fury who is stood there. He would kill him right then and there. He is like the Prison Warden. Oscar looks at him and he sighs.

“I can’t let Tyrian hurt Ruby.” Oscar tells him.

“Then frighten him.” Death advises.

“Huh?” Oscar stammers in confusion.

“Tyrian is a mad dog, frighten a mad dog and it will back down.” Death tells him.

“How?” He asks.

“You can freeze time. You’re bright; figure it out on your own. But if you try to run or leave the Sanctum...I will know...and I will find you.” He promises. Oscar sighs because he knows that Death is not lying, he is giving him a chance, but he will not offer a second. So Oscar does at the Knight says, walking away from where Salem was and Death looks back at Salem where he was originally stood.

Oscar walks down the hallway and he returns to his cell, still seeing Tyrian stood right where he was, and he still needs to figure out how to actually let time resume again. But he stands right in front of Tyrian so he is glaring into his eyes. The blade is not going to hit him but Tyrian will see him.

Oscar stares at him and he starts to think to himself. _Play Time._ He thinks this type of thought, and on cue, the bang continues and the scream continues as well. “Boo!” Oscar shouts.

Tyrian screams like a little girl, jumping back in confusion and fear, looking at him in complete and utter bewilderment. “How did...” He stammers.

“Long story.” Oscar assures with a smirk. Tyrian staggers from his cell and he closes the door. “Lay a finger on her again, though, and I won’t just scare you.” Oscar assures. Tyrian glares at him.

“We’ll see about that.” Tyrian assures as he flees down the hallway from Oscar and Ruby’s cells.

The scare tactic got him to leave them alone, but not forever.

Tyrian bolts into the hall and he looks around in confusion, turning to Death. “That boy – he just – I don’t know!” He stammers.

Death looks at him and he chuckles. “I didn’t see anything.” He says. Tyrian looks around, still shaken from Oscar’s scaring abilities and he storms off like a kid with a tantrum. Salem looks at Tyrian with confusion and then continues her conversation with Watts.

Death remains where he was stood.

Death kept to his word.


	12. A Long Waited Explanation

**Yang**

“Welcome to Dragonspire Keep, the last refuge of the Shadow Knights.” Kragen announces when he pushes the huge wooden doors open. The creak and groan when the old joints and bolts squeaks it open. The heavy doors reveal the interior home of the keep that they have been teleported to. And to their amazement, there are Silver Eyed Warriors here, not many but there are others. One of them panics, his eyes glowing brightly with white light leaking from them as he prepares to attack. Kragen steps in front of them with his hands held up to protect them all. “Whoa, whoa! They’re not our enemies!” He defends, which also makes them realise that he is not here to betray them since he willingly put himself in harm’s way.

The Warrior stands down, the light leaving his silver eyes and he sits back down. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He apologises. He is quite young, as are most of the men and women here, all with Silver Eyes, both Human and Faunus. Strange to see a robot amongst these warriors, the Architect walks alongside them all with his poncho still wrapped around his chassis.

“Don’t mind them; some of the people here have been rescued recently. Unless you have not noticed, the Silver Eyed Warriors are being hunted like dogs.” Kragen says to Yang over his shoulder.

“Yeah...you could say that.” Yang agrees, looking around. The Architecture in here is beautifully ancient with towering walls that look like giants could fit in here. There are some engraved markings on the wall as well, Arkhoni markings. This Keep must have been from that era.

“Where are we going?” Ren asks him, walking with Nora and Jaune behind Yang, Blake and Weiss.

“We are going to my office, where we can talk in private.” Kragen answers. They follow him through the halls; there are huge windows with multi-coloured panels all over the place, making the area feel that more beautiful and unique. They pass by a corner to see some even younger children sat down in a room with a woman tending to them all. Salem has been sending them to kill children, this place is truly showing how much of a threat they are becoming, hunting down anyone. No matter their age, sex or race. They will die if their eyes are silver. Qrow looks around, in awe to see that these people are actually real. He heard the stories that Ozpin told him but he never truly believed until Ruby did what she did on Beacon tower. Never believed that the power of one’s eyes could be so important.

They walk outside and Jaune is looking around with them. They are outside in some sort of desert, it must have been nearby to where they were before, unless if they are in Vacuo or in the deserts of Menagerie. It is hard to tell when they are surrounded by mountainous dunes of sand; clouds are extinct in the skies, only an ocean of blue. Sun walks over to Jaune and he bumps his arm into his shoulder to get his attention. “Did the Architect ever bring you here?” Sun whispers.

“No. I have never been here.” Jaune answers. “He only kept me in that village.”

“So we’re all in the dark here?” Sun asks.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Jaune answers. “No different than normal, right?”

Blake looks across the path from her and there is a training ground, a young boy is fighting aggressively against Atlesian Knights that have been reprogrammed. The Knights however are damaged and rusted away; they must have been acquired from the remains of Beacon itself. Nobody came to repair Beacon or collect the machines, so perhaps the Silver Eyed Warriors were left no other option. But when they look around, there are actually very few people fighting. Some are but most are just sat around doing nothing, looking hopeless. Some are crying their eyes out, which must have meant that they have lost their families due to Salem’s Wrath. And with the Knights of Grimm going around, destroying everything one village at time. That must leave a lot of angry orphans looking for answers. Perhaps this is what the world of Remnant is about to become.

A world where people are forced into hiding to escape the wrath of the Knights of Grimm. But eventually they will find even this place.

Yang looks at the fortress and it is enormous, massive thick walls with massive guard towers. Old cannons left in the walls and there are barns where horses, cows and sheep are being tended to. A Silver Eyed Warrior rides past them on a horse and she stops in front of Kragen and he slows down. “Sir, we have brought a few children back from Higanbana.” The woman tells him. She has a long blonde ponytail and huge silver eyes, a pretty girl and she looks like she is younger than Yang but not younger than Ruby.

“Any other survivors?” Kragen asks, but she just shakes her head.

“The Knights wiped the village out.” She reports and he growls in anger.

“Damn abominations. Okay, take them to the doctor so then he can make sure that they are okay both mentally and physically.” Kragen tells her. She nods and the horse takes off, braying as it passes them. Jaune, Ren and Nora look at each other, as they remember that place. Qrow stops as well, he remembers the place as well. Raven doesn’t stop but she also remembers it from the conversation that she has with her brother. Jaune puts his hand on Ren’s shoulder who has stopped to grieve the people there.

Winter stops and looks at them. “Hold up.” Winter tells them. Kragen stops and looks back at the tormented Ren.

“Are you alright, Ren?” Weiss asks him as she walks over to the saddened boy.

“We’ve been to Higanbana. There were a lot of good people there; they gave us shelter when we needed it.” Jaune tells the Schnee girl. Blake looks down at the floor; this kind of news has almost become something she hears all the time. More and more towns and places filled with people getting wiped out by four knights. That’s all it takes, four of them. It is understandable why some people are starting to lose faith.

“How do you stop something that comes right back after you destroy it?” Ren stammers, his hands clenched into fists. Nora slides her fingers through his, holding his hand and smiling affectionately to him. Kragen approaches them, his impressive brown coat blowing in the wind. His duster is old, covered in sand and has holes in it over the years. Underneath the duster’s robes they can actually see a pair of Revolvers holstered around his belt.

“That is the other reason why I have brought you here.” He tells them all, and a ray of hope shines upon them all as they look at him with a gasp of shock. “I know a way to beat them.” He tells them all.

 

They all follow him into the Office Building; it is separate to the main Keep itself, near the edge of the walls. He opens the doors and holds it open for everyone to enter. Everyone walks inside and they look around. There is a large map of Remnant engraved on the stone wall that shows all the different locations. The map was made in a time long before the Kingdoms. Vale, Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo are not on the map, just different names of old locations. But one place stands out the most.

Arkhonex.

A location beneath the black dragon shaped mass in the upper left hand corner of the map. Whatever that place is, it must have been the first ever Kingdom of some kind. The Architect closes the doors behind them all. There is a table there and Kragen approaches the chair and the end. “Please, take a seat. You will have to take in quite a bit of information today.” He says, pulling a chair out to sit down. Everyone obliges, sitting down except for the Architect. The Architect just stands in the corner, crossing his metal arms as he stands there, looking over at them. “These are troubled times.” He begins as he sits down. “A world without leaders, it is causing chaos to reign everywhere. And it just makes it easier for the world to become more and more vulnerable for what was always destined to return.” He says.

He presses a button on the table and the map behind him flips round and behind the panel is a beautiful painting of a religious looking image. It shows four Archangels upon a burning Remnant. One on fire with Wyvern wings that is slaughtering innocents, another that is shrieking at them and causing millions to wail in terror, and a widowing woman that brings other millions to tears. And above them all is the Archangel of Shadows with his Nevermore Wings stretched out. His massive armoured hands held out with the four relics orbiting his form. A blast of fire is erupting from his form and it is killing everything.

Humans.

Faunus.

Wildlife.

Grimm.

Everything dies from his power.

Everyone gasps in disbelief at that image, of Death destroying absolutely everything on Remnant. Kragen stands beside it, looking at them all. “We are all that stand in their way. Worn down Silver Eyed Warriors, some teenagers and some Huntsmen and Huntresses.” Kragen says, and by saying it that way, it makes it sound like they don’t even stand a chance against them.

“He would destroy the Grimm as well?” Raven questions in disbelief.

“Death does not discriminate; all life no matter the womb would die out in his eyes.” Kragen tells them all, which sends shivers down their spines.

Now they need to know how to beat these monsters.

“You said you know how to beat them? How?” Jaune desperately asks.

“I have beaten one in the past. There was a fifth Knight, called Vengeance.” Kragen begins, and they all gasp. Kassius looks confused, since the story he heard there were only four Knights.

Death

Fear

Loss

And Fury.

“But I thought that there were only four.” Kassius presumes.

“That’s what the old fairy tale said, but stories change over time. People tend to create fiction from the facts to make the truth more hidden behind the lies.” Kragen explains. He clasps his hands together when he looks at them all.

They all listen intently. “You want to know, don’t you?” Kragen asks them. “How they really came about?” He asks them.

They all simultaneously nod. “Well...the story was close to the truth. It started off as a legend, one of the greatest of all. The Five Knights of Grimm, the ones that brought the Arkhoni Empire to its knees. There were four living knights that existed out there and they became the four Knights of Grimm. However, what the story did not cover was that they did not meet. They did not work together. And the order is not entirely accurate.” He begins.

“What do you mean?” Yang asks him, sat next to Kassius at the table.

“Well, the first Knight to actually have been forged was not actually Death. He was actually the last one to be formed. Fury was the first one.” He says to them all, and they gasp in disbelief.

“Fury? I always felt like he was the youngest, with him being less intelligent and all.” Neptune says, presuming things about the Knight.

“He is far from unintelligent, the Knight is a genius, but his anger essentially controls him. And he was not always like that, a long time ago, when the Arkhoni were still alive and growing strong, his name was Axzura Vex. He was a Claimer, or a Pirate.” He explains to them all. “A notorious one at that, he was the first one for the Brother of Darkness to weed out from the darkness.” Kragen explains. “He would lead his men and his hunger for riches and greed was his sole purpose. He claimed many Merchant Ships and the dust crystals that they carried. But he also found something else on his journeys.” Kragen explains as he walks around like a lecturer.

Kragen picks up a scrap piece of paper and he sets it down in the middle of the table for them all to look at. It is a faint drawing of some kind of rock that glows, looks extremely volcanic with shadows leaking off it. “He found the Ancient Relic of Destruction.” Kragen reveals. “He used that to destroy countless vessels for his glory, and that made a name for himself. Now most records are lost, I only know this information from past experience and the Visionary Books left behind by the Arkhoni.” He explains.

“Visionary Books?” Winter questions with confusion.

“The Arkhoni, the ancient people that came before, they accomplished wonders with those Relics, including the one he stole from a Political Ship. One of the things we learned to do is the ability to transfer entire sections of our memories into these books. Anyone could place their hand upon a page in the book and they would witness the chapter of events that happened in their lives that have been recorded in the books.” He explains.

“There are others out there?” Qrow asks.

“Yes there are, in the Arkhoni Ruins across Remnant.” He answers. “From the ones I remember, the Arkhoni Government decided that they needed to send a ship of sailors out there to locate the Claimer and kill him, reclaim the stolen goods and return them. However...things clearly did not go according to plan. Somehow the God of Darkness found them and turned five people into the Knights he needed to destroy our society. Death, Vengeance, Fear, Loss and Fury.” Kragen explains.

“You keep on saying...our civilisation.” Blake points out, noticing that small detail and he nods.

“The traits of the Silver Eyes are different for many people. Some are extremely powerful; others are given the gift to live for thousands of years. Not everyone remains youthful like yourselves, but we some survive for thousands of years. I am the only one of the Seven that remain.” He says as he walks around.

So many facts are being thrown at their faces as he walks around the room, the ramblings of an old man. But luckily, Sun decides to keep him on the subject. “How did you kill Vengeance?” Sun asks him.

“Well, that is a good question. As you may have noticed: the Knights have infinite forms, they cannot be killed in your average ways. They can be destroyed but not ended. But there is a way, and it is difficult and it takes a long time to figure it all out.” He explains to them. “And it all relies around the Visionary Books, we must challenge what they are, to make them believe in something that is not what they are. For example, the way we defeated Vengeance. We searched the landscape for the Book that would tell us about who he was, his name was Phalaxan Sylus and he was a Captain of a Ship. The God of Darkness was drawn to him because he lost his wife to Axzura Vex on one of the Merchant Ships. He turned him into a Knight by lying, giving him the possibility of getting revenge. Something he could never get.” Kragen explains.

“How did you do it?” Nora asks him.

“We found a message from his wife, one that would be able to remove all possible feelings of revenge. We gave him closure, and that closure helped him end. His body crumbled to dust and he was defeated. We learned the same principle is available to the Knights of Fury, Fear and Loss. They can be convinced into ending by offering them a way out, to make them believe in the opposite of what they are. We must make Loss smile again, make Fear no longer feel like people should be afraid of him, make him feel equal, and we need to find a way to calm Fury down. The only ways to do that is to find the Visionary Books and learn what we can about them.” Kragen explains.

“What about Death?” Qrow questions, and that question actually flummoxes the Silver Eyed Warrior.

“We never found a way, he is not the same. He is not an emotion or a desire, he is a force. But we had a theory, one that we could never find a way to work.” He says.

“What was it?” Yang asks.

“To enter his realm, to die and fight him there. His forms are shadows of his true self and we would have to tear him down from wherever he comes from. But simply dying did not work; there must be an easier way to go there without losing yourself in the process.” Kragen explains, meaning that at the moment, they have no idea of how to beat the Knight of Death.

“Well, knowing how to beat three is better than none.” Raven says as she fits her hands together on the table.

“So we need to go hunting for a bunch of books across the world?” Sun asks with a sarcastic tone.

“Not exactly, I have been searching the whole world and I have been able to cross off areas. But there is one place that I cannot find.” He says.

“Where?” Weiss asks.

“Arkhonex.” He answers.

“But weren’t you from there?” She questions.

“I was, but when the civilisation collapsed, our minds were wiped in the process of all locations of the city to hide the secrets from the world. And the place is heavily infested with the Grimm. Because Salem’s Sanctum is there.” He says, pointing to the Dragon Shaped continent at the top of the map with his finger. “That is the last known position of the city and I have scoured it and I could never find it.” He sighs.

“What has this to do with Ruby?” Yang asks him and he looks at her, he can understand her impatience, she may know that the Knights must be destroyed once and for all. But the life of her little sister, of Qrow’s daughter, is on the line while they are talking.

“It has everything to do with her.” He tells her.

“How?” She asks.

“Have you noticed that I have mentioned that I was part of a group?” He asks her.

“Yeah, the Seven?” She replies.

“Well, in the beginning there were Seven Silver Eyed Warriors. It was a time long before Huntsmen, and we were tasked with the protection of life against the Grimm. One of the individuals that was part of the seven was named Ruby Rose. She died when fighting Death on the final days of the war. Along with our leader, Cynthia Nikos.” He explains. As soon as he mentions that last name...all of their eyes widen, but he continues and does not even notice their reactions at first. “The Silver Eyed Warriors were tasked with one rule: never harm any life that was not Grimm.” He explains. “Until one member of our team defied this rule, and her name forevermore was: Salem.” He coldly says.

“She despised both Humanity and the Faunus for whatever reason. She never told us, and she wanted to kill all life on Remnant by collecting the four Relics and using them all against us, changing the world to remove all life in one pulse.” Kragen explains to them all. “When she wanted to use it, she learned to summon the Grimm to her side and a massive battle took place over the possession of the Relics themselves. She got close one day, becoming more and more powerful every single day. To the point where we could not stop her. So we were forced to steal the Relics and hide them from her.” He explains. “I was there during the battle, and I made sure that I would teach any that would find me and offer the abilities I have learned. During my isolation, I met four young women who offered kindness to me. If you have heard the tales...I offered them extraordinary abilities to help others in need. They became the Four Seasonal Maidens.” He explains as he stands there.

He was the old wizard that gave the Maidens their powers all those years ago. “I do not know exactly what happened to the rest of the Seven Warriors, but I have not seen anything of any of them for thousands of years. Salem is the only one that I know for certain is still alive. But since the Ruby Rose born today seems to share very similar abilities to the one I knew? I feel that perhaps my old friend has learned to accomplish more than any of us believed.” He explains.

“You believe that she has been reincarnated into my sister?” Yang questions accusingly.

“I do. Her powers were very powerful and she also learned them from a young age, but at eighteen, not fifteen.” He says to them all, walking around. “Wherever your sister is, she is in grave danger of becoming a weapon for Salem to use, and if she manages to manipulate Ruby into joining your cause, her combined with the Knights and the Relics...our beautiful world will be no more.” He explains.

“Then how do we stop them?” Ren asks.

“Well, there is one theory that could have been of use. There was the idea once that only a Rose and a Nikos together could defeat Death.” He says, moving back to the ideas of defeating the Knight of Death.

“Pyrrha Nikos?” Jaune asks.

Kragen’s eyes widen in disbelief when he hears the name of a Nikos that they know. He turns sharply and presses his hand to the table as he leans across it to look him in the eyes. “So you’ve met a Nikos? Well you must have met a great descendant!” He chuckles with amazement, so much hope on his face. “Is she alive? Here? In this time now?” He asks.

“She sacrificed herself to save me.” Jaune says with grief in his voice.

Kragen looks down with anguish, the excitement he once had now perished with the hopes of Pyrrha being there to help with this plan. “So she’s dead...” He sighs. “Then we’re back to square one, Nikos and Rose were always the strongest warriors.” He says.

“But Pyrrha had green eyes, not silver.” Ren points out.

“The strength the eyes gave would carry on, no matter the eye colour. They may not have the same abilities, but their power would join with them.” The Architect chimes in from where he is stood.

“Her polarity...” Sun whispers as he remembers back when she was alive. “She was always the strongest fighter...maybe that’s why.” Sun realises.

Kragen walks away from the table, thinking of other methods to beat Death, for he is the one that they need to worry about the most. “So...hang on...” Jaune begins as a crazy thought enters his mind. “The same power that is in the Relic of Creation...” He continues. “...could that power somehow be used to bring Pyrrha back to life?” He asks him, and he stands there for a moment, thinking it over.

“It was never used in that way, but Creation has an energy like no other.” Kragen tells him, walking around the room more.

“Then how do we get to Ruby and Oscar before Salem gets the rest of the Relics?” Jaune asks.

“Follow the clues! Find the Visionary Books, they are the clues. The Acolytes are burning the ruins down to hide any possible weakness for the Knights as they can. Find the Visionary Books to find Ruby for they will show you where to find Salem’s Sanctum and how to get there without being torn apart.” Kragen explains as he walks around more.

“Then we better get moving.” Yang says as she stands back up. “Where can we find the first one of these books?” Yang asks.

He looks at the map which has returned and he points at it. “Right here.” He tells them and their eyes widen of where it is.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jaune sighs.

The Emerald Forest.


	13. Return To The Emerald Forest

**Whitley**

Whitley approaches the cell door where James Ironwood is still trapped in. He sits in the dark, his beard beginning to grow longer as he sits in the darkness. He crosses his arms and he presses his shoulder against the thick metal door when he stands there, smirking as he stands there. “Was it all worth it?” Whitley asks him with a cocky smirk, and Ironwood looks up from where he sits, at where he heard the voice. His metal hand clenches into a fist and he grits his teeth in anger.

“Open this door, Whitley.” Ironwood demands coldly. Whitley laughs, his blue eyes widening slightly when he stands there.

“I wouldn’t be so rude, General.” He says smugly, a comment that just makes Ironwood even angrier. Knowing that Jacques Schnee is hatching his plan to overthrow the Council. “I could be the only key for your freedom.” He says. But Ironwood just scornfully gibes.

“You’d just run to your father like you always do.” Ironwood says and that makes Whitley stop and he grits his teeth in anger when he says that, staring at the door which stands between him and the fist of the general that really wants to be sent straight through that door.

“What would you know?” Whitley chuckles, and Ironwood stands back up, walking over to the cell door, looking at where he is.

“I know a hell of a lot more than you, Ozpin told me about the things that are happening out there. Beacon and now Haven, and here you are at Atlas. Cowering under your father’s shadow as always.” Ironwood scolds with a scowl on his face, before walking back into the shadows of his cell. Whitley remains there and he sighs.

“Then maybe it’s time to do something about that.” Whitley states with a menacing smirk on his face. Whitley steps away from Ironwood’s cell and he starts to walk down the white halls of the Schnee Manor, passing by waiters who carry trays. One of which is Klein and Whitley looks at him as he walks past him. But Klein hardly even takes notice of him, he just keeps on walking. Whitley reaches into his trouser pocket, taking some sort of key card from it and swiping it across the scanner. There is a faint green flash of light from the machine and the door unlocks, opening up.

The sound of drills and machinery working away resounds through the walls of the underground facility created underground. He walks down and there are scientists and engineers inside, working on something. Along with many bodies in bags on gurneys. He hops down from the steps with cheery energy as he approaches the gurneys. Whitley looks at one of the named bags. “How is production going, Doctor?” Whitley asks. The name on the tag reads Neon Katt; the one next to it is Flynt Coal. Whitley turns when a holographic projection of Doctor Merlot appears before him.

“We are working ahead of schedule. These Huntsmen have some impressive biology, not only is it making this project more viable...but also improving the Acolytes of Lien.” He says, looking around. Whitley looks across the room and he can see a soldier wearing some sort of experimental rig and he presses a button. The device flashes bright and three over copies of himself form beside him and they mirror everything that he does. “All the semblances can be harnessed from their very D.N.A.” Merlot says with a smirk on his face.

“Will it work on Deimos?” Whitley questions.

“Without a doubt, I must say however, I am surprised to see you wanting to create such a weapon. I thought you never wanted to be a Huntsman.” Merlot presumes, crossing his arms.

“I don’t.” Whitley sharply says. “My sisters are a disgrace to the Schnee Family Name, if anyone is putting them down it will be me. Just need to wait for my father to give the order.” Whitley says, smiling as he looks upon the mechanised suit being built. Only the Endo-Skeleton has been built so far but the plates are being welded on one at a time. And there are holograms that represent the blueprints of the Giant Armour, a suit of which that has been designed off.

Merlot chuckles. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Merlot says, turning and walking away, and the hologram vanishes from Whitely, but he did not hear the comment made by Merlot. He is too busy staring at the suit as it is being built.

 

**Yang**

They all stand around the table at Dragonspire Keep, ready to leave whenever they need. Returning back to the Emerald Forest...it is the closest they have been to Beacon after the fall. Nearly a year has passed and it still feels like the event happened yesterday. Raven holds her Odachi, ready to form the portal, but before they do, they see Kragen Nox walking towards them with his staff in his hand. “So, are you ready to go there?” He asks them all.

“I guess...” Yang sighs, feeling some anxiety about going there.

“Remember, to find the Visionary Book you must find different areas of which to locate it. Like the Arkhoni Ruins.” He explains. “Once you find it, place you hand on the page and let the book sort through for what you seek.” He explains.

“Got it.” Yang answers respectfully with a nod.

Raven nods, swinging her sword sharply to open a portal behind them so then they can walk through the black event horizon. They all start to walk into it, leaving Kragen Nox behind at his Castle. “What next?” The Architect asks.

“We wait for them to return.” He answers.

This is not the first time she has been to the forest, but it is not the same as when they were here last time. There was still one member of their group here. This is the closest that they have been to Beacon since it fell. They all walk out from the red portal, their eyes looking upon the green trees that surround them all and Yang stammers as she sees the wounded tower in the distance. They all start walking from the portal as it closes and Qrow looks at Raven. “Been a while since we have been here.” He says with a chuckle.

“Not all.” She says, remembering when she first ever saw Fear, when he showed her the nightmare that haunts her mind. The possibility of losing her daughter.

But when they look around, Jaune notices that Yang, Weiss and Blake are walking up a hill in the forest. They walk up it and they can see Beacon in the distance.

What remains of it...

The tower is barely standing and the dragon is no longer frozen atop it. The school looks so destroyed and the howls of the Grimm no longer echo from there. For whatever reason, it sounds like it has been completely abandoned. The three of them stand there, Yang’s coat blowing in the wind with her hair along with Blake and Weiss’ as they just stand there. It is the first time they have seen the school since it was destroyed. Yang closes her eyes and all three look back at Jaune who is just walking through the forest.

He looks up at a tree and there is still the scar in it where Pyrrha threw Milo to save him, the tip cutting straight through his hood. Jaune lowers his head and sighs heavily, looking down at the floor as he continues to walk along. Jaune’s eyes close and a tear pushes through the gaps in his eyelids. Kassius stands with Neptune and Sun, as they are the three that were never here to experience the Emerald Forest. “Give them time.” Kassius says to Neptune and Sun, walking past them as he looks around for any sorts of Arkhoni Ruins.

Yang still looks at Beacon, and then she looks down at her cybernetic hand, sighing heavily. Adam might have had some second thoughts about what side he was on, but he still amputated her arm that day. A moment that Yang will never forget, or even forgive for that matter. Blake looks at her side and there is still a scar from where Adam stabbed her and she looks back. Weiss is still filled with guilt, despite that Jaune told her that she shouldn’t have to, she still feels responsible for what happened to Pyrrha that night. Because she failed to get Ruby up there fast enough.

But there was nothing that could have changed what happened up on that tower.

But it is like a magnet, their eyes are all peering up there to the top of that tower. Heartbreaking memories of the news that they heard from Qrow.

Despite that there were only two people up there that actually knew one hundred percent of what happened up there. Ruby and Cinder, and Ruby even started playing the idea over and over in her head that perhaps Emerald performed her magic on her mind to trick her into believing it. But since they have not seen her and Ruby can see her in this strange realm, the Charred Forest...it seems pretty certain that she did actually die up there.

And Cinder regrets it, the personality of Amber starting to play a part on Cinder.

It feels like the three of them were stood there for ages, but eventually they walk away from the hill to start searching for the Arkhoni Ruins. “Come on, we need to find that book.” Yang says sombrely.

“Like old times.” Blake remarks, remembering the relics that they had to find. Those relics were nothing like the ones that they have to find now. The ones that must be kept from the grasp of Death. Things are nothing like they used to be.

“To think that once we thought that all of this was difficult.” Weiss giggles as she walks with Blake and Yang, Yang in the middle, Blake on her right and Weiss on the left.

“I know, it seems pretty stupid in comparison” Blake agrees. But something Yang remembers actually makes her start laughing when she sees Jaune ahead of them. He is not laughing, but something else is making her laugh.

“What?” Weiss denounces.

“Oh, just remembering that time when we heard Jaune screaming like a big girl when he and Pyrrha bumped into that Deathstalker. And I thought it was a little girl.” She giggles as she walks with them and even Blake starts laughing as she remembers.

“Yeah, and while you two were getting a relic, Ruby and I were hanging onto a Nevermore.” Weiss scoffs when she remembers back to holding onto the feathers of the massive crow. The three of them laugh at their memories as they walk along. These are the things that are important to them when it comes down to the survival in this war. The good memories are the things that these people must clutch onto. Otherwise they will lose themselves, as many others have because of this conflict.

As they walk, Ren and Nora walk behind Jaune, and they can tell that he is still suffering. No matter what he says, he will never stop suffering from the loss of Pyrrha, no matter how much time passes, the wound will never heal. It is like ripping an organ out, Pyrrha was such an important part of his life.

And now she’s gone.

Qrow holds his sword in his hand, looking around as he walks with Raven and Winter, the adults of the group stood at the very back so then they can keep an eye on them all. “I don’t know about you, but this is all starting to sound like wild goose to me.” Qrow sighs as he walks.

“You’re not giving up are you?” Winter questions.

“What could history possibly do to help us find out where Ruby was taken?” Qrow questions. “We need to plan and find possible individuals that could have information.” Qrow snarls.

“No offence, but there is more to this that Ruby.” Raven says, as cold as ever and that makes Qrow glare at her with furious eyes.

“She is all I am worried about.” Qrow snarls as he walks and Raven gives him a look and then she just rolls her eyes.

“Well, we don’t really have any other options right now, Qrow.” Winter says.

“I don’t care, my priority is finding my little girl.” He whispers so then the others don’t hear him say that.

“Why keep it a secret?” Winter asks.

“Because Yang has believed that they are sisters for her entire life.” Qrow tells her.

“They have been sisters their whole lives, blood should not change that.” Winter says.

“Sometimes things aren’t that simple.” He says.

“How?” Winter asks.

“Because it was my fault that Summer is dead.” He coldly says, to get her to shut up and to move the conversation off to catch up with the others. During that debate, however, Raven has kept her eyes on the treeline.

There is that underlying feeling.

Like they are being hunted.

They continue on and they uncover what looks like a clearing, the trees part and before them is the same old structure that Blake and Yang found when they picked up their relics. “That looks familiar.” Yang says as she points at it. They all start to approach the structure and they all look around. Hearing the tweets of birds in the trees. Yang and Blake walk over to the pillars that are stood in a circular shape and they look around. The pedestals where they picked up their relics are still there, but left clear. “Looks no different from when we were last here.” Yang says with a huff, shrugging her shoulders.

“Look around?” Kassius asks.

“Yep.” Yang answers as she searches for something. It looks untouched, but then again the last time they were here they did not realise the ruins would be from an ancient civilisation called the Arkhoni and that there could be a magic book around here. How things change over time.

Nora knocks on one of pillars to see if something happens, and of course nothing actually occurs. Ren sighs, face palming at how she does not quick prodding it. Jaune stands there, picking up an old stone to check if there is some kind of mechanism underneath it. Also nothing. He sighs when he looks around, but déjà vu hits him like a truck when he sees something in the distance.

The cave of which where he and Pyrrha found the Deathstalker. He walks towards the cave without anyone noticing that he has wandered off. He approaches the cave, looking at the markings on the outside of the cave, showing a Deathstalker on it. “How did I not see that?” Jaune rhetorically asks when he stands there. He looks at the floor and the torch that he made is still there after all this time. No one has been here since they came here. It is easy to forget that when they started and when Beacon fell, it all took place over a year.

And yet it felt much longer than that.

He turns around and leaves the cave. “Once was enough.” He says to himself, shuddering at the thought of confronting yet another Deathstalker. Ever since then he has been afraid of Scorpions because of the massive Deathstalker that attacked them. He walks across the field to return back to the structure that they have found.

“Why can’t these ancient civilisations make their stuff easy?” Sun growls in annoyance as he starts kicking a rock. He kicks it so hard that he starts bouncing on the spot, grabbing his foot in pain. “That hurt!” He yelps like a little girl.

“This is how a real man handles it.” Neptune says, doing the exact same thing, kicking it so hard that he starts doing the same thing, like a mirror image to Sun. They both bounce around on the spot after not even nudging the stone slab from their relentless kicking. Blake and Weiss look at each other and they both roll their eyes at the same time and they return to examining the area for the mechanisms. “That didn’t hurt! Not one bit!” Neptune lies before falling over.

Qrow crouches down and he starts to examine the area and Winter uses her glyphs to push the things out of the way. Weiss stabs Myrtenaster into the floor and she closes her eyes. A large glyph forms on the grass and it spins round swiftly as it sits there. Light glows from the glyph and then the sword rises from the glyph. Then the armoured hand and finally the entire form of the Giant Armour emerges from the Glyph. It stands tall and presses the blade into the soil honourably to Weiss. She uses her mind to command the Giant Armour to help by moving the rocks out of the way. The huge knight crouches down and picks up the slabs of rock, throwing them across the way to find things.

Meanwhile, Raven is walking around the circular platform in the middle of the structure, staring at the markings. She is on the right track as Kassius starts thinking of the same thing. Kassius walks into the middle of the circle and he looks down. Beneath them is a strange mechanism in the shape of a foot. Or a boot.

He looks at Raven and then at the marking. “What are the odds that –” Kassius says, pressing his boot onto the print and he twists it round. Luckily it was in the right direction, not stealing his thunder from his little moment.

The mechanism twists round and there is a muffled bang from underneath them. Like clockwork, the sounds of huge gears start churning round and they can feel vibrations channelling through the floor and the stone ground starts to shift. Altering almost. The rocks start to rise up as metal pistons and mechanical devices transform the area around them. They all step out from the structure as the circular floor starts to descend downwards into a staircase as the other pillar rise up, creating the rest of the structure that was thought to be destroyed. Turns out it was underground the whole time. The pillars of which the relics were placed on sink into the ground, like activation keys.

A door at the bottom opens, a thick piece of stone that is slide aside, revealing a cob web infested interior. “How’d you figure that out?” Yang curiously asks.

“There was a print on the floor, I put my foot on it and turned.” Kassius answers with a shrug.

“Nicely done.” Yang says. Kassius and Raven walk down the stairs first with the others behind them. Raven holds her Odachi tight, the red blade glowing against the walls as she walks down, looking around for any traps.

“Watch your step, who knows what the Arkhoni have got waiting for us?” Qrow says as he walks around, checking their six as they walk. Another door is open and Jaune panics when he stumbles into a spider’s web. He flails around like an idiot, screaming like a girl until Nora manages to pull it off him.

“It’s alright!” Nora assures.

“Oh god, I hate those things.” Jaune shudders.

“So you hate both spiders and scorpions?” Nora asks him.

“Never gonna let that go, are you?” Jaune questions.

“Nope.” Nora giggles.

They approach a large room underneath the structure, the same size as it was above, however this chamber is underground. Similar to the Dragonspire Keep, there are ancient Knight Statues bent down around the circular room. And in the middle of the room is a pedestal, and as luck would have it.

There is a large book, thick with thousands of pages that are sat down. Dust and webs covering its body. It has a thick metal edge around it and there is a weird presence to it.

Yang approaches the book until suddenly a bright light shines upon them all, causing them all to stagger back. The light forms a projection, an old recording from that era. It is a human, an Arkhoni. He has short black hair and wrinkles on his face. He wears robes around his body and his hands are clasped together like some sort of priest. He bows before them honourably, despite having no knowledge of who they are.

He speaks, in ancient tongue that they do not recognise. It must be Arkhoni. “Salve, Ego sum qui loquor.” He begins, speaking with a pronounced voice, one that is strong and wise, like he could speak forever. Something that has become quite relatable with those of Arkhoni origin, they tend to have deep, commanding voices. And this man does as well. They all listen to what he says even if they do not understand what he is saying. “Qui invenit hujus Libri describendis, maxime cum animus sit presumendum est quia mortui sumus. Hic stetit in notitia iuvabit inimicum. Mutantur Grimm.”

“Grimm, he said Grimm.” Sun points out as he walks around, looking at the hologram that has formed.

“Anyone know what he said?” Jaune asks curiously.

“Not a clue.” Sun answers.

“Kragen Nox might.” Qrow points out.

“He has a point...but remember...we came here for the book.” Yang says as she approaches the book.

Yang approaches the book and the book suddenly levitates off the pedestal, opening before her and the pages all flick open in front of her, stopping on a page with a handprint on it. Yang looks at everyone behind her with worried eyes. But Raven nods as she touches her shoulder gently. She sighs, breathing out carefully.

She places her hand upon the page.

Yang gasps when she feels her body tighten and lock up as an energy source of some kind passes straight through her body and pulls her mind into some sort of environment that she does not understand. They all reach out for her but Yang is unaware as she is pulled into this strange memory.


	14. Axzura Vex

**The Speaker**

The memory begins...

The beautiful sapphire ocean flows with a full moon in the sky. A time long before now, with the moon in one piece instead of being shattered. There are no clouds in the sky, just the sea of stars spread across. The calls of whales can be heard under the ocean surface as they swim. “On the clearest of nights, when the wind of the Valerian Ocean were calm and peaceful...” The Speaker narrates; his voice has been translated into English from Yang’s presence in the book as she watches the contained memory. A huge wooden ship floats across the soft oceans, the underside cutting through the water as it moves, creating a trail behind it. The deep churning growl of its propellers underneath it giving it the thrust it needs to move. “The Great Merchant Ships of Arkhonex, carrying their hordes of Dust Crystals, felt safe and secure.” The Speaker continues, the massive vessel continuing on.

The huge mast has huge sails spread out, using the wind to help it move. The ship has a long bowsprit that stretches across the Beowulf designed figurehead built out of gold as it moves across the ocean. Some crewmates walking around the deck to keep it moving, civilians sleeping inside, others cheer as they party and drink. Feasting on their spoils inside of the enormous wooden vessel. “Little did they suspect, that their trail was being tracked by...” The Speaker narrates, when suddenly a faster but smaller ship moves up behind the Merchant Ship with fiery orange sales and a furious skull with fire around it on the flags as it approaches with cannons at the ready from its starboard side.

“...The Claimers.” The Speaker announces as the ship sails on intercept course with the ship, the once peaceful emotions of the ocean growing cold and aggressive as it moves closer and closer. Stood at the deck’s bridge is a man, wearing Pirate’s Clothing.

His set of armour that he wears has a pointed helm with a furious skull roaring with fire engraved into the steel on his chest plate. The face is damaged, almost volcanically, as magma and fire bleeds through the cracked face as it roars. The man has wide shoulders with jagged plates of armour on them, combined with metal and the bones of boar and Wyverns from the Vacuo Mountains. There are leather straps across his bare bicep and forearms that keep the armour attached on them. He also has a pair of iron bracers and gauntlets, knuckle dusters made from the vertebrae of Atlesian Mammoths. His arms are muscular, coated with scars and tattoos and clutched in his hands are a pair of Berserker’s Axes that he holds tightly, glaring at the ship as they come up beside it. He wears a uniquely designed set of armour plates that is combined with a leather trench coat, the coat blows in the gentle wind and there are plates holding it together. The metal covers up his chest but some scars are visible from his times being a captain. The moonlight reflecting off the steel metal that he has around his body. His legs are fully armoured with metal and bone pieces, strapped together as he stands there.

He reaches to the helm and he takes it from his head, looking at the ship, his wig that he wears blows in the wind. “And the most feared of all these Claimers was the notorious Captain Axzura Vex.” The Speaker continues. The man turns and glares at the reader with a pair of glowing hot orange eyes with constant anger on his face. He stares at his crew and he swings his axe aggressively.

“Burn them to ashes!” Axzura demands with a bellowing voice.

The Claimer Ship opens fire, launching a swarm of dust powered shells into the hull of the Merchant Ship, blowing holes into its hull. Fiery explosions erupt from the wooden hull and the civilians scream in terror, cowering under tables as the Pirate-Style ship opens fire. The calm oceans are now quivering from the booms of the Claimer Ship’s cannon-fire. The Merchant Ship suffers extreme damage and casualties, making it become disabled and slowing down on the water, fire and smoke spilling from its wounds. “Like a Giant Nevermore overtaking its prey, Vex’s men swooped in!” The Speaker narrates, and on cue the crew from the Claimer Ship moves up beside the Merchant’s ship and the crew start throwing themselves onto the deck of the Merchant’s Ship. They draw their swords and they begin to attack the men aboard, the guards were good fighters but are nothing against the Claimer Captain.

Axzura grabs onto a rope and swings himself over the abyss and he lands onto the wooden deck, splintering the wooden floor from his landing. His helmet back on and the glowing orange eyes can be seen through the enraged mask that he wears.  One Guard swings his cutlass at Vex but he ducks down, smashing his axe so hard into the blade that the Cutlass snaps clean in half. Axzura smashes the other axe straight into the neck of the guard and he splutters in pain, blood squirting out from the impact, ripping it out so hard that blood erupts out like a fountain. He immediately spins round, lodging the blade of his axe into the side of another Guard’s head, forcing it free. He grabs another by the throat, choking him to death as he fights through them with his men. All of his men have similar helms with the furious face on it. He continues to carry the guard as he approaches the stares that descend into the treasury of the ship. There is a loud cracking sound from the neck of the choking guard and his body falls limp. Axzura throws the dead man aside and he starts walking down into the depths of the ship.

He stares at the civilians inside, and they are terrified of him. He walks slowly, keeping his eye on them and they look at the blood on his armour and on his weapons as it drips down into the polished wood floor. They can feel the creaking boards as he walks, and then pretty quick, his men charge down and they point their swords at them all, shouting. He turns to a door and he sends his boot straight into the locks, smashing them and the door from its hinges. He looks inside and he laughs maniacally when he sees the trove of treasure before him. He steps inside, scooping his hands into the dust crystals, some falling through the gaps between his fingers and he stares into the multi-coloured crystals as he laughs. His greed truly shown as he stands there.

“And then...gathering up their spoils...” He explains. The scene ends as the Claimer Ship starts to leave the place where the Merchant Vessel starts to sink into the depths of the ocean, smoke rising into the sky. A mysterious mist forms before the ship and it enters the fog and fades away like a ghost. “...vanished...like a phantom.” The Speaker says, creating a mystery to the Captain.

“Those who came searching never found the Merchant Ship, but they found a map...a map that would show the path of which the Claimers took.” He explains. The Visionary Book presents a fog cloud that parts and there is an island across the way from them. It is small with three mountains with clouds surrounding them and storms swirling round the island itself. “...a path straight to a mysterious island. One that only a young silver eyed warrior could access safe passage through.” He explains. “And that certain Warrior’s spirit would soar!”

 

“A young Knight...” The Speaker announces.

The setting transforms, morphing and shattering and fading into a different environment outside the ocean of which where Captain Axzura Vex attacked the Merchant ship. It now reveals itself in some sort of mountain range. Snow capped mountains penetrating through the clouds like knives that are ready sink their serrated teeth into flesh. Misty snow trails from the caps and there is a whistling wind.

A man walks across the snow environment, wearing a Knight’s Armour with a sword sheathed to the scabbard that is magnetised to the spine of his armour. The armour is extremely impressive, crafted by some of the best Arkhoni Smiths in Arkhonex. The set of armour has a black colour to it with red sashes and robes built into the armour itself. The helmet is fully concealing the face of the man with a V shaped visor that is made up of two glowing red optics. The helmet comes together like a snout, made from intricate pieces of metal. Unlike the Pirate, Axzura Vex, he has a full suit of armour with no openings. The gauntlets are sharp, and the armour has engraved markings across it. His boots press into the snow, able to move through the snow with ease and his red cape blows into a howling wind on the top of this huge mountain. He has scars across the armour itself. Etched into the sword are some ancient Hieroglyphics, but in the time of which this took place, this would have not been as ancient as it is now.

He walks up it, taking his helmet off to reveal a young man underneath it. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes as he stands there, looking around with awe. There are huge glowing cyan dust crystals sticking out from the mountain, along with deep purple ones as well. Ones of unknown origin that glows faintly. He looks around and he sighs, observing the environment. “...he hunts his prey up in the Snow Capped Mountains of Mantle.” The Speaker narrates as the Knight walks around.

Until he hears a loud bellow from the summit of the mountain, initially sounding like the wind that roars around him, but it is anything but. Through the blizzard he can see the glowing red eyes of some sort of Grimm that hisses like a serpent. The Knight grabs the hilt of his sword and he draws it, holding it in one hand. He clenches his hand into a fist and a Dust-Based shield forms to protect him when he needs it to. He stares at the beast and it growls at him, heavy thudding as it moves. He puts the helm back over his head; shaded visors protect his eyes from the snow that blows against his body. “And so we meet at last.” The Knight greets, holding the sword tight as he glares at it. The beast roars at him and it spreads its massive arms out, huge black wings extending from the bone as it roars, the internals of the beast glow bright red and it jumps from where it was perched.

It is a Wyvern Grimm.

Savage, glowing red eyes sit inside the armoured skull of the beast, fixated on its newest visitor, and soon to be meal. Several bone growths sit atop its head, just above the internal ears that allow it to hear. Large fan-like skin and bone structures run down the sides of each of its jaw lines. Its nose is pointy and has two long, pointy nostrils and there are bone growths on its chin. Four large teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and show a glimpse of the terror hiding inside. A huge neck runs down from its head and into a narrow body. The top is covered in smooth jet black scaly skin and an armoured bone plated ridge runs down its spine and snout. Its underside is covered in warped black scales and an external ribcage of bone and is riddled with glowing red veins underneath the scales. Two powerful limbs carry its body and allow the creature to stand illustrious and intimidating. Each limb has 3 digits, each of which end in long claws seemingly made of protruding bone matter. The delicate wings are attached to the long muscular arms of the beast, folding out from its arms as they extend, a translucent red tone to the membrane that glows as it becomes more and more aggressive. Its spiky tail ends in a sword-like growth and is covered in the same smooth skin as its body.

“Every hunter has their prey, and eventually...the hunter becomes the hunted.” The Speaker says with a powerful tone in his voice. The wings spread outwards and it glides across the snowy sky above him and he walks around. He reaches into his small bag attached to his utility belt and he pulls some sort of potion out from it. He unscrews the bottle and takes a hefty swig. He starts to growl in pain as his veins start to glow from the potion that has been drunk. Like his veins are on fire, it has some sort of lethal effect on him and his eyes start to glow blood red and he gasps for air, but luckily whatever this pain was it seems to pass. His muscles have increased in size and strength, his skin has cracked and become the scaly skin that mimics his game.

He spins the sword through his fingers and his eyes can focus more easily in the blizzard as he watches the Wyvern circling him. It roars aggressively as it soars across the sky, banking around the summit. The red eyes leak from the armoured crest of the beast as it comes towards him. The Wyvern glides straight for the Knight and it spreads its wings out to stop its flight and hover in one place. The snow blasts into him with a gust of air that nearly knocks the Knight off his feet. But he stabs his sword into the snow to keep himself from being blown away. He glares at the beast with a scowl and he pulls the sword from the floor.

The Wyvern breathes deep, its chest glows bright orange as the fire inside begins to catalyse from the magical capabilities of the creature. Its eyes glow brighter as it breathes in, rearing its neck back like a cobra that is about to attack. It then opens its jaws with a metallic screech that unleashes a cloud of napalm flames towards the Knight. He lifts the energy-based shield up before the flames, holding the fire back with the blue energy. The snow melts around him and he holds his ground as the Dragon attacks him with its fire attack. Staying in the same position. As the Knight stands there, he reaches to his back and there is a crossbow. He holds it in one hand and aims it at the Wyvern, pulling the trigger and launching a bolt straight at the creature. The bolt darts across the stormy air and snaps upon impacting the bone armour plating around the snout.

Having no effect.

The fire-breathing finally comes to an end and the Knight can stand back up again, lowering the shield. The Dragon swings its wings and flies straight at him. The Wyvern clamps its jaws at him with force, the bang of the jaws impacting echoes across the mountains along with the rage-induced roars that it creates. But the Knight ducks down and immediately drives the blade of his sword upwards, into the wing of the Wyvern. The Wyvern screeches in agony as the black smoke spills from its wing. It flaps uncontrollably, attempting to fly away, but as it does, it crashes straight through a mountain and starts to fall, crashing into the snow with force, ripping the stones from the ground and creating a mini avalanche. The Wyvern presses its taloned hands into the snow, crunching the compacted ice layer beneath him down.

The Wyvern utters a growl, gritting its sharp jagged teeth together and it stares straight at the Knight of which who has managed to ground it. The Wyvern hisses like an Alligator and it crawls towards him. Unlike the Sea Dragon that Blake and Sun faced, this Wyvern is still able to kill when on the ground as well. The spines that run down the spine of the monster rattle like the tail of a Rattlesnake. It breathes fire at the Knight again but he uses his shield to block the flames as he walks towards it.

The Wyvern roars, spinning round with its tail smashing straight into the Knight. The Knight is thrown across the battlefield, tumbling and crashing into the wall with a heavy thud. He rolls across the floor, groaning in pain. He grabs his side, the metal plates clanking and scraping against one another and he rises back up, seeing the Wyvern glaring at him, on all fours as it snarls at him. It charges at him once more and goes to devour him with its muscular razor sharp teeth riddled jaws. It has three rows of teeth inside those teeth.

But the Knight rises up and smashes his sword into the side of the Wyvern’s head with force. The impact is so hard that the bone armour is shattered on its nose, smoke billowing from the wound, causing it to stagger. The Wyvern cries out as it moves around, scraping the talons across the snowed over ground, chipping its claws against the rocks that are hidden underneath the snow layer. The Knight bashes the shield he has projected against the face of the animal with enough force to stun it.

He takes his chance, running right at it and leaping onto the wing, running onto the back and he jumps into the air, holding his sword in both hands as he drives it straight into its skull with force. The Wyvern ducks down and manages to swing its head out of the way. The Wyvern shakes the man off and it looks at him as he rolls onto the floor. The huge Creature of Grimm turns to face him, its eyes glowing bright red as it walks around. It snarls deeply and lunges straight at him; jaws agape as it lunges, snapping its jaws down before him. The Knight rolls out of the way and he slashes his sword across the eye of the Dragon, cutting through and blinding that one eye. The Wyvern shrieks in pain as the smoke pours from the eye like blood pouring from an open wound.

The Wyvern stumbles away from the Knight from the impact, pressing its taloned hand against the mountainside and it growls from its suffering. The wind is picking up and the snow is getting heavier, making it harder to see for both of them. Even the strength that the potion has given him is not helping. But the Wyvern manages to shake the pain off and it charges straight at him, biting into his arm with force. The Knight cries out in agony, pushing the blade of his sword into the wounded eye. The extra agony that it suffers from the same wound causes the Wyvern to cry out as the smoke spills from the wound. The Knight twists the blade further and it pulls its head from him, opening its jaws after tasting his blood.

The Knight grabs his arm in pain, the teeth managed to puncture the metal plates and he stares at the beast as he bleeds into the snow beneath his feet. The Wyvern stumbles and stares straight at him. It breathes into unleash a cloud of fire on him, but the chest does not glow orange like it normally does. Not fire is ignited in the heart, and it confuses and worries the Wyvern. It looks at its own body in confusion and it notices the bone armour beginning to break off and crumble onto the floor, turning into a structure similar to the snow that they are surrounded by. Like ash.

The man’s helmet has fallen off, landing onto the snow and he stares at the creature, battered and bruised from his combat with it. He smirks at the monster as he stands there, still holding his sword and still bleeding into the snow. The Wyvern glares at him and it barrages a roar straight at him with anger in its pained voice.

The Knight clenches his hand into a fist and he suddenly launches a blast of energy that sends the Wyvern backwards, back into the mountain with force, the summit cracking like glass and exploding into chunks of rock that tumble down the mountain. The bone spine of the Wyvern snaps upon impact, slumping to the ground from the impact. It scrapes its talons into the ground, stretching its wings out despite the other damaged one and it starts to flap them to try and escape. But the Knight grabs the Wyvern’s sword-like tail and he pulls it downwards. The potion has granted him enhanced strength and he managed to smash the dragon into the ground with force, hitting its head against the ground. The ground quivers from the impact and the Wyvern turns round sharply to attack the Knight. The Knight dodges and opens his hand; a cloud of fire erupts from his hand and burns into the hide of the Wyvern, no longer protected from its beloved bone armour. It shrieks in agony as it tries to escape, until he swings his heated sword upwards and managed to cut clean through the arm of the Wyvern.

The arm cuts clean off and smoke billows from the wing and it screams in pain, slumping to the floor, crawling away.

The Knight walks up the body of the Wyvern and he looks down at it. He lifts the blade of his sword upwards and then plunges it straight into the head of the creature, ending its suffering once and for all.

The Wyvern falls lifeless and there is a faint hissing sound from the corpse as it begins to disintegrate beneath his feet. He stands tall and looks up at the sky, exhaling a white mist from his lips as he stands there. But as the body of the Wyvern disintegrates away, he collapses, passing out from the battle and his injury.

He lays there for hours as the snow billows around him after killing his prize.

Until three hours later, he gasps when he opens his eyes, reawakening and he looks at his arm. The wounds have closed up from the potion he took, which also enhanced his healing capabilities. He sits upright and his eyes are no longer glowing red, they have returned to their normal blue colour. He picks up his sword and he makes his way down the mountain to the town at the bottom. The journey must have been long for him but the memory managed to shorten it down to when he got down. When he reaches the location, there is green everywhere and a warm sensation in the air, unlike the ice cold summit that he just fought that Wyvern atop.

He approaches a man by a notice board and he kicks his foot gently and he gasps when he wakes up, snorting from his snoring state. He looks up and sees the Knight stood there, still got some cuts and bruises on him and his armour, but alive. He then sets a bag down, which contains some shards of dust from the crystals he found up there. That was his true prize; the Wyvern was the challenge to get it. “That Wyvern won’t be attacking your livestock anymore, and here’s the dust you asked for. Three Shards worth.” The Knight tells him, his voice is young but he is far from innocent sounding.

The man opens the bag and he sees the dust shards inside and he gasps with amazement. “How did you take the Wyvern down? No one has managed that before!” The Farmer exclaims.

“I have my ways.” He tells him.

“Well, you have my thanks. Come with me.” The Farmer says as he stands up, taking the bag with him and he walks towards his hut. He opens the door and the two of them enter. Inside is his office and he sets the bag down on the table. He then reaches into his safe and there is a large quantity of golden coins inside. This is a time before Lien was invented to be a currency, so in this time they used golden coins. “What we agreed on, three bags worth of Sovereign Coin.” He says, setting the three bags down, filled with the coins for the Knight. He picks them up and straps them to his belt and he just nods. He turns to leave but the Farmer calls him again. “Why don’t you stay at the inn? Find a warm body to sleep with; there are plenty of fine women who would enjoy your company. You have paid one hell of a fine service to this town.” The Farmer says with his arms crossed.

“I appreciate the offer, sir, but I already have someone waiting for me.” The Knight says to him.

“You never did tell me your name.” The Farmer says. He stops and looks at hm.

“My name is Krekras Blackridge, but people call me Archangel.” He answers.

 

**Yang**

The memory collapses before her eyes as the stored memories in this particular book have been usurped and suddenly there is a pulse that pushes Yang away from the book. Kassius catches her before she could accidentally hit her head on the ground from the pulse. “Whoa! You alright?” Kassius asks her, moving some of her blonde hair from her eyes so she can actually see.

“Yeah...yeah...” She stammers, but she doesn’t even notice the blood leaking from her nose.

“Your nose is bleeding!” Kassius says, wiping the blood away.

“I’m fine...I just need a minute.” Yang sighs as she sits down, Kassius helps her down and they all look at her, kneeling down beside her. She breathes in and out slowly to recover from that, having her head played with like that is bound to have a few physical repulsions after usage.

“How much did you see? You weren’t in there for long.” Nora asks curiously.

“I was in there for around a few minutes, maybe fifteen...” She presumed.

“It was like a few seconds for us.” Winter says with a shrug.

“I guess time in that thing is longer than it seems in reality.” Qrow theorises. Yang sits there and she manages to get her head back into it, shaking the migraine off eventually.

“What did you see? Anything that can help us find Ruby?” Weiss asks.

“Maybe...” Yang stammers as she remembers what she saw with Axzura Vex.

“What was it?” Ren asks.

“It was – a story from back then...Axzura Vex...” Yang explains.

“Didn’t Kragen mention him? He became Fury, didn’t he?” Sun asks.

“Yeah, he was a pirate.” Neptune remembers.

“Well he was definitely telling the truth, because I saw him raiding a ship and he managed to pull it off and leave without anyone figuring out where he went. Except for a few, apparently.” Yang remembers.

“Where’d he go?” Blake asks.

“An Island...one surrounded by storms...and the guy narrating it said that only a young silver eyed warrior can gain access to it somehow.” Yang explains, and they all stand there, realising that there must be something important on that Island.

“That must be why they have Ruby!” Kassius realises as he stands up, taking his Stetson off for a second to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“Salem must want her to get into that place...but why...we need to find more of those books...learn what we can.” Yang explains to them.

“So it was worth the effort?” Qrow asks.

“Definitely...And there was something else in that book...I saw this guy called Krekras, he was a Knight and...His armour looked identical to Death’s.” Yang explains. None of them have the confirmation if Krekras Blackridge is Death or not, but they know someone who could. And they need to get back to him. Yang gets back up. “We need to get back to Kragen.” Yang says.

They all walk up the stairs, but Yang stops in her tracks like a dear at the headlights of a car.

She feels the hairs stand on the back of her neck when she sees him leant against a wall with his knife in his hand. “Looks like you’re not the only one looking for those books.” Hazel says. Yang looks around and she can see Cinder stood there with flames engulfed in her hand. Mercury and Emerald emerge as well and she scowls at them both, since she trusted them, and Emerald is responsible for the murder of Penny.

But they are not what are creating the sensation of dread.

Yang turns and she sees the Knight of Fear walking next to her and stopping right in front of them all with his Scythe in his hand, golden eyes staring into their eyes. Maggots’ crawling in the rotten skin and his rotten smirk looks right at them. Torn skin moving and the skull can be seen underneath, the white bone of his jaw visible under the ripped open skin. “Look who has decided to arrive.” He says with a smirk.

Jaune turns and he sees the Knight of Loss is also here as well. Her glowing blue eyes looking at them and she holds her bow, drawn back and the arrow aimed at them, ready to kill them at the command of her friend, Fear.

Yang stares straight at Fear. “What do you want?” Yang questions coldly.

Fear walks closer and he is now nose-to-nose with her. “Let’s talk business, hmm?” Fear asks her, tilting his head with an insane smirk on his face.


	15. Formido Falcem

**Yang**

Her lilac eyes meet the glowing gold eyes of the Knight of Fear, who stares straight into her eyes, taking a few steps back from her as he begins to walk around. Yang stares at Emerald and she is looking at her in return. “We trusted you...” Yang hisses, but Emerald just looks away. The three of them were more confident with themselves before Salem, before the Fall of Beacon for that matter. Fear looks at them as he paces around with his scythe in his hand, dragging it into the grass. His very presence causes the once calm birds to fly from their homes in the trees, abandoning the Emerald Forest.

“Seems like we were not the only ones who came here, seeking the secrets of the Visionary Book.” Fear chuckles as he walks, and Hazel pushes away from the tree to approach them all.

“What did you see?” Hazel asks them. Everyone looks around, staring at the many enemies that surround them.

“How did you get here?” Yang asks them.

Fear chuckles. “Well...when we figured out that you had met dear Kragen, we realised that he would have told you about the Visionary Books.” He explains to them, his hands moving around as he speaks. “I felt...since we asked them to find you, I would lend them a hand.” He says to them as he shrugs his shoulders. Jaune looks around, because he knows that if they are here, then so must the Onyx Phantom.

“What about the Phantom?” Jaune questions.

“Oh...she’s around.” He assures with a smirk.

That adds a new level of fear to their situation, realising that they are not alone here. That the Phantom is likely to be around here, in the forest with her orange eyes watching them all. Loss paces around them with her Bow drawn, aimed straight at all their heads and ready to release the arrow when needed. Qrow stands behind Yang with his hand near her, because he knows what Fear is capable of. Fear looks at Qrow and he smiles. “Look who it is...it is Mr Branwen.” He announces with a smile.

“Fear.” Qrow greets as he stares straight at the hunched over Knight as he walks around, spines protruding from his back as he walks, the cowl pulled over his head, concealing most of his head in shadows, his eyes glowing through the dark layer.

“Hope our last meeting didn’t give you any bad memories.” He hopes as he walks towards them all with his scythe in hand, flies surrounding both him and the weapon itself. Qrow looks at the Scythe and Fear immediately notices it and he holds it up with one hand as he points at it. “Oh, you like this?” He asks as he walks towards them and he holds it up to them, showing it before them all. “Say hello to _Formido Falcem_!” Fear says extravagantly.

“Hello.” Neptune greets and Weiss rolls her eyes as she looks at him and he just shrugs.

“How polite.” Fear snickers as he stands upright again, which is odd since he is usually hunched over. Only now do they realise that the hunched over side to Fear is just an act, one that he does to create more dread from his form, to make himself look more disturbing as he walks. “This baby has served me well, I’m sure your daughter would greatly enjoy looking at this scythe.” He says.

Everyone gasps in confusion when he says that and he stops when he notices it and he sees the anguish on Qrow’s face, his eyes shut and his realisation that they all now know the truth. He looks at them and then at Qrow and he covers his mouth in shock. “Oh...” He drags out from his rotten lips, walking around, waving his arms around like a bird from excitement. “Wow, what did he tell you guys?” Fear asks him with a laugh.

Yang looks at Qrow and she can see the legitimate defeat in his eyes. “Uncle Qrow? What’s he talking about?” Yang asks him with real worry in her eyes, Raven and Winter stand there and they know what Fear is about to bring up, but they can’t stop him.

“Qrow!” Fear gasps as he walks towards them all, Qrow in particular. “What stories have you been cooking up, good old Uncle? You lied? You lied to your niece? To your own daughter?” He chuckles as he looks at him.

“Uncle Qrow? What is he talking about?” Yang questions again, but he doesn’t answer from regret of not telling them sooner now.

“I didn’t want it to come out like this.” He says to her and Yang gasps in disbelief at this.

“Ooh...oh dear...what can of worms did I just spill?” Fear wonders as he places his hand over his mouth again as he walks around.

“You’re...you...” Yang stammers.

“Oh...I like this.” Fear says with a smirk on his face, and then Cinder chimes in.

“We’re wasting time!” She calls from the trees behind him. He turns and stares at her, pointing his Scythe at her.

“Just a second.” Fear commands and she backs down, and Fear turns to face Yang again. Yang is in dire need for answers. “Well, Qrow – shall I tell her or shall you?” Fear asks him, even giving him the chance for redemption and he looks at Yang.

“Yang...” He quietly says and she takes her hand away from him.

Fear groans. “Get on with it; we’re on the edge of our damned seats here, Qrow!” Fear mockingly exclaims as he arches his functioning spine back with vigour. Qrow glares at him and then he looks right at the blonde girl.

“Summer and I...we were always together when we were young. Tai was always with your mother, she and I were extremely close...and I loved her...so much.” Qrow explains with pain in his voice when he explains the truth to her. “One night, we wanted to start a family and we did...but...my semblance...” He stammers as he thinks back on that night.

Yang listens to every word that he says and everyone else cannot help but feel like they are intruding on this extremely personal moment that Fear has just blabbed about. “I was putting her and Ruby at risk, she was already developing problems because of it...so...” Qrow explains, Fear stood there with a smirk on his face as he watches; his plan to tear them apart is beginning to work. Loss stands tall with her bow aimed at them. “...I asked your father to help her, to help our little girl...I couldn’t risk their safety because of my semblance, so I asked him to look after them both.” Qrow explains and Yang can’t help but feel betrayed from this news.

“You’re...Ruby’s father, she isn’t my sister?” Yang questions.

“She’ll always be your sister, Yang.” Qrow tells her. “And I am the reason your mother is dead, because we were out on a mission, and _your_ friend killed her.” Qrow snarls, his attention returning to the smirked face of Fear who stands tall.

Fear laughs, clapping his hands. “Isn’t this great? Families bonding!” He cheers, walking around, and Mercury clenches his hand into a fist. Nora clutches Magnhild tightly and Sun’s eyes glare straight past them all.

Meeting Hazel.

Hazel recognises Sun in return and Sun wants to run out, but that is what they would want him to do. And Blake is holding his hand, since she can sense his anger, the man who murdered his parents is right there. Sun looks at Blake and she just nods at him. He exhales and nods back to her. Yang stares at Qrow in shock of this news; she has not even looked at Fear yet, just shocked from this revelation.

Qrow reaches out to her but Yang pushes him with both hands and she points her cybernetic finger at him. “I have always trusted you!” She snaps at him with fiery red eyes. “Why couldn’t you trust me?” Yang shouts.

“Because I was afraid...” He says to her.

“Oh what?” Yang questions.

“Of losing my family because of my lie...of my curse.” Qrow tells he as Raven helps him back up to his feet.

“Hey, Yang, if it’s any consolation, he duped Ruby too.” Fear says as he shrugs his shoulders. Yang stares at Fear now, looking right at the Knight that stands tall, his cape of rotten skin blowing in the breeze. “Made her believe that he was her uncle, and he even lied to me about his reasons, and Qrow, old boy, that really – pissed me off – but all behind us now.” Fear says as he sways his arms around with a smile on his face.

“What business are you talking about?” Ren asks, trying to get this to stop.

“I want to know what you saw in that Book.” He answers.

“You know, don’t you?” Neptune asks him, walking past the shell-shocked Yang and to confront Fear himself. The blue haired boy stares straight at him and Fear chortles.

“I remember you...you’re the Schnee Girl’s squeeze!” He charismatically says, patting his cheek with his skeletal hand. Weiss scowls at the Knight of Fear, wanting nothing bad to happen to her boyfriend. “Good looking guy, too...kinda making me jealous.” He whispers in his ear as he walks around him, dragging the scythe into the soil.

“Answer the damn question.” Neptune snarls.

“What question?” He asks.

“You know what question.” Neptune sighs.

“I’ve forgotten.” Fear says honestly and Neptune rolls his eyes.

“You already know what was in that book, right?” Neptune asks and Fear smiles.

“He’s a bright one.” Fear chuckles.

“Then why are you even here?” Nora questions.

“To make sure that I didn’t come here for nothing.” He says, pouting his damaged lips as he paces before them. “So I presume the one who read the book saw the Volcanic Chain Islands, correct? The inaccessible land, surrounded by a Storm-Barrier?” He guesses as he flings his hand before them all, as if he is seeing it before his very eyes.

“Sounds about right.” Yang answers, still coming to grips with what she has learned.

“Called it!” Fear cheers.

“So if you knew then why bother? Other than to kill us?” Neptune questions.

“Well, _I_ have not come to kill you, _they_ have.” He says, highlighting the others with his hand with a smirk on his torn open face. Yang stares straight at Cinder with angry eyes and she glares right back at the sister of the Silver Eyed Rose. Jaune is still looking around for wherever the Onyx Phantom could be hiding from them. Waiting to pounce at any moment. “But...I am here to offer a potential deal.” He says, and Cinder’s hand clenches into a fist.

“Fear!” She shouts, terrified of failing Salem again. Fear just holds his finger up to her to shut her up.

“I am a professional.” He says with a smirk. “So he is my offer: you drop everything, go out there and let the laws of nature take their course...I’m willing to forgive and forget.” Fear tells them, offering this deal to them.

Yang scoffs. “I will never give up on my baby sister, no matter the heritage.” Yang promises with a scowl on her face. Fear sighs, shaking his head.

“Oh, Draco Parum Serenum...” Fear sighs with disappointment. “You’re gonna break this old man’s heart.” He says, gesturing to himself. Now the entire group stands ready to fight, Qrow holds the hilt of his sword carefully, not drawn yet. Yang is ready to fight with her fists clenched.

“If I have to.” Yang assures, but Ren steps forward, hoping to defuse this situation while they still can, for it seems like that Fear and Loss can be reasoned with, unlike Death and Fury.

“There doesn’t have to be any bloodshed.” Ren attempts.

“Clearly you’ve never had to shave.” Fear says, using an odd analogy for the situation right now, but with Fear that has come to be expected with him.

“He beat me by one second.” Sun says as he taps Ren’s shoulder, making Ren just look at him with a bizarre expression.

Jaune looks at Cinder with anger, but Ren yet again attempts to stop all of this from escalating into something much worse. “You can still walk away from this.” Ren offers and Cinder scoffs with a smirk.

“Oh, don’t you worry, we will.” Cinder assures.

“I know you’ve suffered.” Ren adds.

Fear mimics the sound of vomiting extremely loudly and the sound turns into a menacing laugh. “Lie Ren...” Fear says with his head shaking as he stares at the young Kuroyurian Boy. “Kuroyuri’s righteous son...pretending you can live without the fear of the Nuckelavee...” Fear says and the mere mention of the beast makes Nora and Ren scowl at the Knight. “I can’t physically throw up in my mouth because there is nothing in me to regurgitate.” Fear states to them all with a smirk.

Cinder stares right at Jaune, seeing the hate in his eyes for what she did to Pyrrha and inside she can feel the self-hate, but on the outside she is just staring straight back, fire burning around her black Fall Maiden Dress.

“If you know what we know then why waste your time with us?” Winter questions.

“Well I need some fun in my never-ending existence.” Fear says with a chuckle. Yang glares at the Knight and she has one last question for him, one that they have been holding back because they know that he will not actually answer said question.

“Where is my sister?” Yang demands with a constant stare.

“I’m glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain our evil plan!” He sarcastically says as he waves his skeletal rotten hand around before him. Qrow notices the flies and the toxic deep green gas beginning to ventilate from his forearm. He is about to use his Fear Toxin on them to try and show them their worst fears. Blake notices that Loss is getting ready for combat and then Sun sees Hazel getting his knife ready to fight. They are getting ready to battle.

Qrow gasps, grabbing Yang and he pushes her down just as Fear pushes his hand towards them, blasting a constant spray of gas straight at them all, carrion flies buzzing and swarming with the cloud that comes for them. They all duck and get out of the way just in time. Qrow grabs his sword and he draws it and he jumps straight at Fear. Fear leaps at him and they both start to attack each other. Cinder, Mercury and Emerald start to fire at them with their weapons, Mercury kicking shells towards them. Fear slashes his Scythe at Qrow with speed and force, leaving deep green trails behind the blade as he moves it, similar attacks to Ruby but he hits much harder. Qrow swiftly deflects the attacks with the long blade of his sword and he fires his shotgun inside the sword directly into Fear’s chest the impact sends him crashing into one of the stone pillars, knocking it over with a loud bang. The rotten bat wings fold out from his cape and he starts to fly after Qrow, swinging his Scythe directly at him as he glides by. Qrow yells as he slashes his sword straight across the Knight’s chest, the impact knocks the Knight of Fear straight into the ground with enough force to tear the ground up from underneath him. He drags his Scythe into the ground and he immediately gets back up, swinging Formido Falcem straight at him. The cogs in Qrow’s sword start to whir and spin round, making the pieces of metal shift and transform, and the blade extending into Scythe form. They both slam their Scythes into each other, creating one extremely loud metallic crack that blows the grass from underneath them all over the place.

Sun yells in anger as he charges straight at Hazel, and the huge brute of a man spins his knife through his fingers, slashing it straight at the Blonde Haired Faunus. Sun jumps into the air and smashes Ruyi Jingu Bang into the hand of the muscular man and he kicks him in the back. Hazel staggers and Sun lands behind him, swinging the staff at him once more but Hazel grabs his wrist and lifts him off the floor. “Should have stayed out of this, boy!” Hazel growls, holding the blade of the knife towards Sun’s stomach and he pushes forward to stab him. Suddenly a pair of legs wrap around Hazel’s neck and she pulls down, yelling as she manages to launch Hazel away from Sun. Sun grabs his wrist and he grits his teeth, staring at Hazel as he gets back up. Blake helps Sun get back up, drawing Gambol Shroud and she holds both weapons in her hands. Hazel stands tall, his hulking mass blocking out the sun as he stands there. Blake smiles to her boyfriend.

“Together.” Blake says.

“Or not at all.” He finishes with a smile that connects with hers. They both turn to the man and he reaches into his coat, pulling out a meaty revolver and he aims it straight at them, firing a round at them. Blake slashes her sheath at the bullet and she manages to deflect the bullet from hitting either of them. The two of them sprint at the titan and they both jump into the air. Blake thrashes the Katana at him and he swings his massive knife at them as well, the long serrated blade as jagged teeth on the metal blade and he manages to scrape across and even hit her aura. Blake hops back, performing a double back flip which ends with her gracefully landing on both feet. Sun batters his staff at the man with force and speed, dodging the attacks and hitting him in the places where he is weak.

Which isn’t many.

Cinder flies straight at Yang and Yang yells, punching directly at her which crashes Cinder into the soil. Cinder slides through the soil, tearing the ground up with roots sticking up from the ground. She rolls out with dirt over her skin, hair and dress. She gets back up and she floats into the air, her eyes billowing with flames, she holds her hands out, the clouds begin to transform above her head, becoming storm clouds that have golden lightning strikes that bolt down from the sky. Yang’s eyes widen as she sees the power of the Fall Maiden first hand, last time what she fought was nowhere near what she has become now. Cinder smirks and she points her hand towards her, sending lightning bolts sparking down towards her. Yang closes her eyes to look away, waiting for it to hit her, until there is a metallic bang. Yang opens her lilac eyes to see that Jaune is covering her, using his shield to protect her from the storm above them all. Rain starts to fall around them as she uses her power. The trees start to turn into autumn trees as her hand is held out towards them, the green leaves turning orange and they all begin to fly away from the trees, leaving the trees bare and naked. She makes them orbit around her like the rings of a gas giant and then they all freeze over and she points her hand straight at them beneath her. The frozen leaves become shards and they all shoot down towards them both and Jaune holds his ground, using the shield to protect them both from her power, and he is being pushed into the ground as he tries to stay there. Yang is getting ready, pumping Ember Celica to fire rockets directly at her. Cinder grits her teeth together as she launches the hail down onto them, but eventually she runs out of leaves, bequeathing scars across the white and gold metal that his shield is made of.

Yang rolls out from where she was protected and she yells, firing the missiles up at the Fall Maiden and she deflects them with her fire abilities, causing them to fly off course, until one manages to hit her straight in the chest, knocking her from her hovering pattern. Jaune tightens his grip on Crocea Mors and he sprints straight at the Fall Maiden, jumping at her with an enraged scream, swinging the sword downwards at her with all his might. Cinder turns to see Jaune as he jumps at her and she rolls out of the way just in time as the blade of Crocea Mors stabs into the soil forcefully. She kicks Jaune in the side of the head to make him stagger and then stands tall. Her hands are held out and the markings in the black dress glow deep red as the embers form and she catches her two swords, spinning them both through her fingers, staring at her enemy. Jaune grits his teeth in anger at her. “You killed Pyrrha.” Jaune growls.

“She should have stayed with you.” Cinder says.

Yang appears behind her with her cybernetic arm clenched and eyes red as she walks around her. The two of them attack Cinder aggressively.

Neptune and Kassius stand tall, and they both turn to see Mercury and Emerald. They are both walking towards the two of them but they also turn to see Weiss and Winter struggling against Loss with Raven as Loss is moving fast and using her Tonfas against them. “Help her.” Kassius tells him, and Neptune looks at him with a confused look.

“What about you?” Neptune questions.

Kassius smiles. “Please...I got this.” He assures, and Neptune nods, running over to the other fight across the way. Kassius tilts his hat as he faces his two adversaries.

Kassius stands there and he looks at Emerald and Mercury as they get ready to fight him. Emerald flicks her mint green hair back and she sneers at Kassius as she holds her Revolver Sickles in her hands, ready to fight him. Whilst Mercury stands in a boxing position to fight him, kicks ready. Kassius smirks at them as he sees them. “Aren’t you kids a little young for these rides?” He mocks, despite being the same age, more making fun of her height and his look.

“I don’t know, are you?” Emerald challenges.

“Never been one for following the rules.” Kassius says as he winks at her, which really agitates Emerald.

“You’re a cocky one.” Mercury chuckles, a hint of admiration in the way he says that.

“What can I say; I’m a natural at it.” Kassius says as he holds out his hands, grabbing the two Lash Equinox Swords that are not yet activated.

“I’m sorry; I thought we would be fighting around now?” Mercury presumes.

“Well...you asked for it.” He says, flicking his wrists up and making the blades fold upwards into position. He cocks his head as he smirks at them both. “Let’s tango.” He challenges, Mercury attacks first with a sharp kick towards his head. Kassius ducks down and immediately swings his sword at him, making Mercury duck down to avoid it. Kassius lifts his other sword up to repel the two sickles of Emerald and the blades scrape across one another. Kassius kicks her in the chest and immediately jumps in the air and slashes his sword down at Mercury who stands behind him. Mercury starts to kick over and over again at Kassius, firing shells straight at him, but Kassius moves extremely quickly. He throws his sword into the ground and he grabs onto the hilt with his cybernetic hand. The hilt grips to the metal with magnetic capabilities, allowing him to spin round with great speed. He kicks them both in the face with force and knocks them onto the ground. Kassius rips the sword from the ground and he slashes the sword up Mercury’s chest, making him grunt in pain. Kassius kicks him in the chest and he is sent tumbling across the area.

Mercury rolls across the floor, groaning in pain. Neptune is launched back from Loss as she kicks him straight in the face. Weiss and Winter are both swiftly using their glyphs to combat the Knight of Loss. She holds her razor sharp Tonfas and lunges right at Weiss, hacking the curved blades at her with speed and force, spinning round as she attacks to build up the strength of her attacks more and more as she fights them. Winter forms a Glyph that launches a storm of ice at her but Loss forms a barrier before her, made from water, and as the ice impacts it freezes the water to make a shield. She throws the block of ice directly at them and Raven slashes her Odachi directly down the middle of the ice, cutting it clean in half. The chunks of ice shatter as they pass by the three individuals and Raven immediately attacks, bringing the long red blade of her sword round with force. Neptune picks up his weapon and he transforms it into Trident Form, slamming it into her side with enough force to actually weaken her stance. Loss grunts in pain but she immediately connects the two Tonfas together, the curved blades form the shape of her Bow and she forms a glass arrow, pulling it back and launching it at him. Neptune spins his Trident round with great speed to cut the arrow down before it even gets close to him. The shards of glass bounce against the floor and he transforms the weapon back into Rifle form, firing blue dust bullets straight at the Knight. She jumps into the air and her long dark grey wings spread out and she swings them downwards as she holds the Tonfas in her hands. She immediately launches them all back from the shockwave. Loss grabs Neptune by the heel and she throws him straight into the ground, the dirt exploding underneath him as he hits the ground.

Raven jumps straight at the Knight and Loss crosses the two Tonfas over each other to block the Odachi from hitting her, and she kicks Raven Branwen in the chest, making her roll backwards. Winter takes her sword and pulls the other sword from its internal, jumping right at her with Weiss zooming around her to attack from behind. But Loss sees Weiss attempting to flank. She takes both Tonfas and holds them both up to block both attacks, her blue eyes staring into their eyes.

Fear and Qrow crash into the ground and the Knight grabs him by the neck and he smashes him against one of the tall most coated stone pillars. He chokes him against the wall, his eyes glowing bright gold. “The time is coming for all life of Remnant to cease to exist, even _you_ can’t stop that!” Fear says to him with a mad smile on his face.

“You wanna bet?” A squeaky voice wonders, making Fear’s face change to utter bewilderment and he turns to face the direction that the little voice came from. He turns and meets the force of Magnhild smashing straight into his face with force. There is a cataclysmic boom from the impact, launching Fear straight through a stone pillar.

“Aaaahh!” Fear screams as he is thrown away, his voice getting fainter as he disappears into the trees. Nora smirks as she looks at what she accomplished, and then she stands on one toe like a ballerina.

“I’m Queen of the Castle, I’m Queen of the Castle!” She sings with an elegant tone.

Ren sighs, face palming from how she handled that and Qrow coughs. Ren helps him back up and he slams his sword into the floor as a support for his weak body as he looks around. “Thanks.” Qrow says to Nora and Ren.

“Anytime.” Nora says with a big smile on her happy face.

“We can’t keep this up against them.” Qrow coughs and they both look at him.

“Really?” Nora asks with wonder.

Blake and Sun are winning against Hazel, she is using her lethal combination of illusions with her Shadow Clones and Sun’s speed and skill combined is making their enemy lose. Blake darts around, every time that Hazel swings the huge knife it only hits a Shadow and she manages to get another hit in as she slashes Gambol Shroud at him. Sun then chimes in with fast and angered attacks with Ruyi Jingu Bang, firing the shotguns as well when battering him in nun-chuck form. The only ones that are struggling right now are the ones fighting Loss and Cinder. “The Knights are smart, especially these two...they might not be as strong as Death and Fury...but they are lethal in a different way.” Qrow says to them.

“How?” Nora asks.

Qrow looks at her and he points to his own temple. “They mess with your minds.”

Weiss manages to send a powerful hit into Loss, sending her tumbling backwards across the ground, dragging her Tonfas into the floor to slow herself down. She stands back up and she turns when Fear emerges beside her. He leans over to her hidden ear in the veil. “I think it’s time for some mind games...” Fear whispers, smirking maniacally as he continues on.


	16. The Theatrics of Suffering

**Jaune**

Fear stands tall as he walks towards the groups of people as they fight. Jaune yells as he slams Crocea Mors towards the heated hands of Cinder, she manages to stop the blade but his anger is making him force it closer and closer to her neck. He does not notice, however, that Loss is approaching from behind with her Tonfas primed. Yang turns around and she gasps in terror when she sees Fear stood behind her, a grin on his face, teeth shown under the ripped lips. The green gas with swarms of flies erupts from his wrist and palm, billowing into her face, into her nose, eyes and lungs. She gasps in pain as she feels her lungs on fire from the Fear Toxin working its magic on her, collapsing to the floor. Yang clenches her cybernetic hand to a fist to cover her mouth as she coughs, her eyes burning as she tears up from the fear that is channelling through her. Her muscles tighten up like she is being electrocuted with a taser, unable to even move. “Don’t be afraid, Yang...you’re not dying, it just feels like you are.” Fear tells her.

Jaune’s eyes widen when he hears the faint voice of Fear, but when he turns around at Yang who’s on the floor, he cannot even see Fear stood there. Cinder yells, creating a powerful fireblast that sends Jaune into the air, Crocea Mors thrown from his fingers and shield bouncing on the floor. Cinder punches him right in the chest. As Jaune lands on the ground, he looks up and sees the Widow standing above him, her black veil of shadows covering her face. Jaune turns and he hears Neptune having the same sort of reaction as Yang, at the exact same time. Same as Weiss, same as Kassius! All of them are having similar reactions, but others are having different ones, breaking down to tears instead of being drowned with fear. They can appear around them at any time, all at once, unlike Fury and Death who cannot produce many clones of themselves at once. They are weaker, but can break people mentally. Loss grabs the black veil and throws it back, revealing her face to him.

She is an extremely beautiful woman with long silver hair that has been hidden, concealed by the veil of shadows that covers her head. The hair blows in the wind, clean and silky hair. Her skin is a pale blue but is smooth and scar-less, alluring lips set beneath her small nose. Her eyes glow bright blue, hooded eyes. But as Jaune sees her, he feels a shock of pure sadness coming over him, his eyes tearing up when he sees something on her change. The eyes turn from blue to green and the hair becomes a luxurious red that forms into a stunning ponytail. The pale skin becomes pale white and the golden bronze circlet plate forms around her forehead. “Jaune...” Pyrrha’s voice whispers, Loss’ manipulating his heartbroken emotions to break him.

Jaune staggers to his feet, looking around as his surroundings begin to transform as the grass and ground shifts, becoming a clean marble floor and balloons rise from the grass. He sees the walls forming as he sees the bodies of people he knows around him, seeing Nora and Ren in their Prom-Wear as they dance, Sun laughing as he dances with Blake. He looks at them in confusion and worry as he stands there. Until he feels the gentle presence of a hand that touches his. “Do wanna dance?” Pyrrha asks him, and he gasps, feeling his heartstrings being torn when he sees her stood behind him. She wears her beautiful red dress as she stands there, a kind smile on her face.

 

**Yang**

 

Outside of Jaune’s sorrow, Yang attempts to get back up to her feet but the fear is causing her head to pound in pain. “My toxin is filling your lungs, your mind, you heart...everything you are...drowning every last bit of it in nightmares.” Fear says as he walks around her, his cloak trailing behind him as he walks. “Tell me – what do you see? The corpses of those you love before you? The blade of Wilt and Blush carving through your stomach to end your short life?” Fear asks her as he entraps her with his toxin. “Watching Miss Rose die?” He adds as he tilts his head with a smirk on his face.  “As I tear your mind apart, one nightmare at a time, your friends will see you for what you truly are. You make yourself out as a confident girl, one of which who has nothing to fear...but we both know the truth...you are barely holding onto your sanity as it is with your younger sibling in our claws.” He explains as he continues to walk around her, chuckling at her. As the toxin tunnels into her mind, his voice starts to sound more demonic, a lot like Mr Hyde in fact. Yang presses her hands to her head as she struggles to keep him at bay. She staggers and when she opens her pained eyes, which is when she sees it. She manages to rise back to her feet; the throbbing sensation of pain in her head is beginning to pass. She look around...

She is in the Charred Forest.

Black bark towers that pierce through the clouds, a huge tower in the middle of the land and she gasps when she sees her greatest fear. Before her are her friends, everyone dead. Jaune is laid down on the ground with the blade of Crocea Mors pushed into his own ribcage, blood drenching his black jumper. The blood has completely covered over the face of Pumpkin Pete on the hoodie, his skin turned pale. She continues to look and she sees Nora in Ren’s arms with holes in their stomachs from where they have been killed. Her eyes turn when she sees the horrific sight of Neptune hanging from a tree and Sun has been shot through the head by an unknown source, the arrow stuck in his skull. She gasps in horror when she sees Weiss on her back with Myrtenaster snapped before her and the blunt half pushed into her belly. Blood everywhere. Kassius’ corpse has been impaled onto a spiked tree stump, blood haemorrhaging from his wound as he lays there, his eyes still open as he lays there, his cybernetic arm ripped from his shoulder. Yang’s attention finally ends on Blake who lies on the floor before her with Gambol Shroud broken by her side, a hole in her belly where blood is constantly spilling from.

Yang gasps as she falls to her knees, touching her best friend’s neck to see if she is alive. Until Blake’s hand sharply grasps onto Yang’s wrist, holding her tight and scaring her soul from her lungs. Blood leaks from Blake’s lips as she winces. “You – could’ve – saved – us...” Blake winces in agony. “Why didn’t – you do more?” Blake questions as she dies, releasing Yang’s arm. Yang shudders in terror when she looks up and sees her ultimate fear.

Across this war torn forest of their final battle are more bodies, Qrow’s body with Raven, Taiyang and others laying there with blood all over the soil. Her eyes focus on the four Knights as they stand on the hill. Fury chokes Glynda in his hand and snaps her neck with his volcanic hand, throwing her down the hill with a snarl. Fear stands there and Ozpin is on his knees, and he points his one handed Crossbow at his head, launching a bolt straight into the Headmaster’s skull, killing him. Loss has her Tonfa pushed into the heart of Oscar and she rips it out as he dies, blood pouring out from the hole in his corpse, slumping down to the floor.

Finally, the Knight of Death stands at the summit of the hill with his armoured hand clutching on her red hood, holding her dead body up in the air with triumph in those red eyes of his. Her silver eye is closed and she can see the open wound of her wound is open to the world. Death holds her corpse high; there is a hole in her heart where he has stabbed her with Ferrum Arctus, blood trickling down the blade. Yang gasps with terror and grief when she sees her sister’s body in the clutches of the Grimm Reaper. His red eyes stare straight into her gentle purple ones. “The Canvas of life will be wiped clean...” Death snarls.

 

**Neptune**

 

Neptune gasps in terror, staggering around as he looks around the area to see where he is, hearing the roaring of water around him. He shudders as he hears the terrible sound of the water, his eyes focusing when the darkness becomes more vibrant, and an ocean of sapphire blue water flooding through his home. He stands on top of a collapsing bridge as it starts to collapse from the water crashing against it, pulling entire houses with them in the floods. Neptune shudders as he stands there, and he hears a small boy wailing with anguish and he turns, gasping when he sees a tiny little boy next to him on the bridge, reaching down to the rushing water beneath him. “Momma!” The boy cries heavily, tears gushing from his dark blue eyes, water drenching his brown hair.

Neptune looks up the village where he can see a mountain and a blown open dam, a massive avalanche of water still coming down and drowning the entire town. He then looks back at the boy, this happened in Mistral many years ago. He looks down at the water and he has to look away. He shudders when he looks around, still hearing the roar of the water and he can still hear the sounds like they were yesterday.

The boy...

The boy is _him_.

He stands there and he puts his hands against his ears and at the same time, the boy does the same as he sobs and sobs away. The roar of the torrential water is so loud that it is like a horde of Grimm bellowing at once. But he peers over and he sees a nightmare appear before him, a bad memory. He can see his mother in front of him, a beautiful young woman at the time and her husband beside her. They were in a car and they had to get out just as the cars all stopped on the bridge. They were in the middle of evacuating the town when the dam blew.

He remembers the sight of hearing the cracking of the concrete wall from whatever damaged it. Later revealed to be the White Fang who were flooding the town, killing many people at once with a single attack. They were going on foot and when he was walking, the bridge began to collapse from one of the supports getting smashed by a truck being carried in the torrent.

The bridge cracks and crumbles apart as the cars plummet down from the bridge and into the water. His father pushed him away and they both fell with their car and vanished into the blue, disappearing from Neptune’s life forever.

Leaving him here for hours.

On his own.

Crying.

This is a really bad memory for him.

 

**Weiss**

She looks around, still holding Myrtenaster but the fear is making her feel extremely afraid as she stands there, looking around sharply as she walks around. The darkness swells around her and she shudders as she looks around, holding the hilt tight, and she jumps in fear when she starts hearing loud male shouting nearby. She looks around and the colour begins to appear as the Hallucinogenic Toxin begins to form a false vision before her eyes. Her fear sends her to her home in Atlas, the Schnee Manor. She walks through the halls and she stands there, holding her arm with a vulnerable feeling channelling through the muscles in her body. She shrinks down, hearing Jacques bellowing at her mother. “She is a failure to the family name!” Jacques erupts.

“She is just a little girl!” Willow defends angrily.

“You were younger than her when given the Family Fortune!” He shouts at her with venom in his tongue as he speaks. She backs up, nervous with scared eyes as she wants to leave this place, despite that all of this that she stands in is nothing more than a hallucination, a bad memory that Fear is using to break her.

“You married into this family for the name, Jacques! I could end this right now and fix the family.” Willow challenges, but then there is an almighty loud clap from inside their bedroom and Weiss could hear her yelp from the impact of Jacques’ hand hitting the side of her face, knocking her on the floor.

This all took place when Weiss was only six years old, and this is the conversation that she was hearing. Her sister was at school when this was happening and she was sick so she didn’t go. Willow was fine with it, but Jacques was not and he wanted her punished for it, instead of being looked after. And Whitley was happily playing away as he always has been able to. Weiss can hear the sound of her mother whimpering in pain. “Remember your place, Willow.” He snarls. “If she will not follow my path then there is no path worth following.” He says to her. “I married into this family for one purpose.” He says to her.

“Money?” She scoffs. “You never loved me...and to think that I was once head-over-heels for you.” Willow growls with disgust at him.

“Oh no, my love.” Jacques answers. “I married you because I enjoy winning.” He tells her and Weiss can he hear scoff in disgust. She then hears the sound of the man approaching the door and she sees the handle moving downwards and the door swings open. She backs a step back, bleating with fear as she sees her father stood there. His hair still partially black, starting to turn white as he grows older and older. On the floor is Willow, a red mark on the side of her face from where he smacked her, a bruise on her eye.

He glares right at Weiss and he storms towards her. “Do you think they hand medals to you because you’re sick? Get in the cab and get to school!” Jacques bellows as he storms towards the scared girl. Weiss looks away as his hand approaches her to hit her as he always does as discipline, but as soon as the hand gets near; he erupts into crows, all of them cawing as they disperse from his form.

Leaving her on her own.

She stands there and a gasp escapes her lungs as she looks down, seeing a small Weiss Schnee curled up on the floor, crying into the floor.

 

**Jaune**

Jaune looks at the beautiful Nikos girl, wanting to hold her hand forever. The cruelty of Loss’ hallucinations is that she makes them feel real, the air feels real, and the warmth from a girl’s skin feels real on yours. Despite the sad truth that it is all a dream, she could place you in a really happy memory with someone you have lost, and when you wake, all the happiness, the joy, the pleasure that you may have felt.

It will all be gone.

She smiles as she looks into his eyes, rubbing her thumb against his and he looks at himself, he still wears his armour and hoodie, unlike the dress he promised to wear when he danced with her during the Prom. Her body seems to glow, the red dress radiates with beauty across her majestic curves. She walks closer to him and she wraps her arms around him and he can’t help but do the same, holding her close, never wanting this beautiful moment with her to end. So many things are going through his mind that he wants to tell her.

_How he feels about her._

_How beautiful she is._

There are so many things on his mind, and it is becoming overwhelming. The music transcends into a gentle piano and they both start to dance slowly on the dance floor, his arm around her and she smiles as she holds him, as if she is embracing this moment as much as he is. She puts her hand around his neck and she kisses him again and Jaune holds her tight, kissing her gently as well so then they can have this moment, one where they are not facing the moment of Cinder taking her from him. The kiss feels like it lasts forever, and when the kiss ends, they look into each other’s eyes, holding hands.

She looks straight at him and he stammers, tears falling from his eyes and she stammers as she tries to speak to him. “Jaune...” She gently says.

“Pyrrha...” He also says, both are struggling to find the words to actually say what they want to say. They both want to admit their feelings, but the feelings of loss is too great.

“I wish...” Pyrrha stammers with tears in her emerald coloured eyes. “I want...” She stutters. “I want to have this forever...” She says to him and Jaune moves his head towards hers, and she does the same. They both affectionately touch their foreheads together, closing their eyes. She holds him tight. “I don’t want to go...” She says as her voice begins to break.

“I won’t ever let you go – not again.” Jaune tells her as he holds her hand, but Pyrrha starts to cry in his arms.

“I can’t stay here, Jaune...” She says to him.

Only now does Jaune realise that this is not the ordinary type of Hallucination...this is the real soul of Pyrrha Nikos and she looks into his eyes. Her soul is trapped somewhere, and Loss let her actually be with him in this moment.

Kind...but Cruel.

She holds his hand and he tries to hold onto her. “Goodbye, Jaune.” Pyrrha sniffles.

“Pyrrha...please...” He begs.

As he looks at her, he hears the voice of Loss behind him. “I’m sorry.” Loss says to him, making him look over his shoulder. But she is not there, when he looks back.

Pyrrha...

And everyone in the hall is gone.

Jaune closes his eyes as his tears soak his cheeks and he sniffles, looking down at the floor as he stands on his own. Because of Pyrrha.

Because of what Salem has done.

 

**Ren**

He looks around, hearing the howls of the Nuckelavee in the distance, the disturbing bellows of screeching voices all going off at once. He looks around and he turns to face the Knight of Fear as he walks through the terrain. “Kuroyuri – where you lost nearly everything...” Fear says to him, and as he walks, the flashback of the fall of his home completely pauses as the Nuckelavee smashes straight through a house with a roar, the horse rearing up and bellowing to the sky, kicking its hoofs with force. The creature atop the Equus is shrieking, but everything stops in one moment, chunks of concrete frozen in place. The roar of the creature has been paused, but Fear and Ren can both still move easily.

Fear holds out his skeletal hands as he looks at him with a smirk. “...and yet you also gained _everything_.” He says to him.

Ren looks around and then he sees little Nora hiding under the house. He means Nora, and she does mean absolutely everything to him. Ren stares at him as he walks around the frozen memory, still smirking away as he always does with his hand holding Formido Falcem in one hand. “What is this?” Ren questions with stern eyes, and Fear smiles at him as he walks.

“This is what awaits you when you join the Infinite and the Unbound.” Fear says to him as he walks towards Nora, holding her hand. As his hand touches her palm, she evolves into the current version of Nora and she walks alongside him. Fear looks straight at Ren as he walks around more, the Nuckelavee is still frozen where he came from.

Ren stammers. “What are you talking about?” Ren questions.

“One is capable of an unthinkable amount of things when one becomes a part of the Shivering Dominion.” He says to him, and Ren watches the things that Fear is capable of. He was not afraid of the Nuckelavee at first because of his semblance, so Fear is testing him here. Fear approaches him. “When you join us, you can change everything about what you were.” Fear says as he waves his hand before the Nuckelavee.

The memory continues and the house collapses over Fear and he vanishes in front of Ren. Ren backs up, looking up at the Grimm Monstrosity as the hoofs land down before him, the impact cracking the stone ground. The Nuckelavee shrieks to the sky, the long arms cracking and twitching as the beast stands tall, clenching the hand into a fist as it swings it straight at some civilians, smashing straight through a statue. The statue’s frame shatters like glass, chunks of stone crumbling into little pieces, tipping over and crashing down into the ground. The amalgamated jockey’s jaws stretch open as it roars, hanging limp down the side of the horse, rasping a wheeze as it breathes.

Ren expects to watch the Nuckelavee kill the people of his town again, until an arrow shoots into its chest and it roars in pain. He turns and he gasps, seeing his father stood there, launching his arrows at the beast and as more warriors come jumping down to fight the monster. The Nuckelavee screeches in pain when one smashes a hammer into its back leg, breaking it and another warrior cuts its arm off as it swings at him. The smoke billows from the wounds and it staggers around. One man jumps in the air with the hammer and smashes the horse’s head into the ground. Finally, Li Ren releases the bowstring, sending the arrow hurtling forward and puncturing through the soft innards of its eye.

The head snaps back with smoke spurting from the exit wound and it twitches, before disappearing in a tower of smoke.

It never went that way.

Fear appears as he walks through the smoke and he looks at him. “When joining the Infinite and the Unbound, we offer those the chance to change their memories to become better, to live happily and at peace, without being plagued by their past.” He explains to him, Nora walking with him. And as he speaks, she speaks as well, but only his voice comes out.

“Giving us the chance to be new once more.” Nora says in his voice with a smile. He then looks and sees his father and mother speaking in unison with the exact same voice.

“The chance to have perfect memories, no more nightmares, just peace.” He says through them. Now Ren looks straight at Fear as he approaches him with his hands held out.

“Isn’t that something worth fighting for?” Fear asks him. “Isn’t that something worth _dying_ for?” He asks him, and that’s when Ren realises what Fear is trying to do. He is making this idea to seduce him to the wonders of death, so then he can die and be under the control of the Knight of Death. To become just another pawn in their sadistic game of chess. Ren glares at him and he scoffs.

“No.” Ren coldly answers. And Fear stops, the entire realm that they stand in collapses as soon as he says it. “I will not leave her.” Ren says, but that was the worst thing that he could have said.

Because that creates an idea in the mind of Fear. “I see – it’s not the Nuckelavee that you fear...” He realises as he walks around, the dark landscape forms the body of Nora who is on her knees by his feet. He holds his long fingered hand before her. “It’s your beloved.” He says with a smirk. “How very twee...” He chuckles with madness. “Would you like to know what I saw in her mind?” He asks him.

“It doesn’t matter.” Ren says.

“Oh no, but I like this.” He says as he clasps his hands together, still sneering at the brave man. “She loves you more than _anything_ in the world, she would harbour your children with grace, never leave your side...because you inspired bravery in her.” He says to him, the faint laughs of a madman echoing around him. “She fears the same thing that you fear.” He says, suddenly pulling out a gun from his robes and pointing it straight at the back of her head.

“No!” Ren screams in terror.

Fear instantly pulls the trigger, without hesitation. He looks at Ren, seeing the horror in his face when he sees the blood, and her body slumping forward onto the darkness that makes a floor beneath them. Blood spilling across the ground. “Whoops, my finger slipped.” He chuckles. “You both fear losing your other half.” Fear says to him, walking back into the shadows as Ren collapses to his knees, touching her hand and feeling nothing, sobbing in anguish.

He knows that it isn’t real...

But it looked real.

 

**Blake**

She has tears filling her eyes as Loss manipulates her mind after showing her face to her. She staggers across the ground, trying to keep a level head  but she can’t. As she looks around, she gasps when she sees them before her.

Ghira and Kali.

They both walk towards her with kind smiles on their faces. “Blake...hello sweetheart.” Ghira says to her with a gentle smile and a gasp escapes her lungs when she sees them, and she cannot help but cover her mouth, tears welling up and streaming down her cheeks as she stands there.

“Mom? Dad?” She whimpers, after knowing that Fury killed them, this is heartbreaking for her to see them like this. Kali smiles as she reaches out to her and touches her cheek with her hand, and just like it was for Jaune, everything about their presence feels like it is real. She reaches out and hugs her mother and her father.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Kali assures as she strokes her hair as she hugs her gently.

“I’ve missed you both...so much.” She sniffles into her mother’s shoulder.

“We’ve missed you too...but we are so proud of you.” Kali assures as she smiles to her little girl whose ears are folded down as she cries. She looks up at her hulking father, they are both free of damage from their attack from Fury himself. A terrible moment in her life.

“You’re nearly there, sweetheart.” Ghira tells her.

“How do you know?” Blake asks with tearful eyes and a broken voice.

“You can beat them – I know you can.” Ghira assures with a smile.

“How?” Blake asks.

“You know how, you need to find out what makes them believe in what they are – make them challenge who they are – challenge their own beliefs.” Kali says to her.

“But I lost you both.” She sniffles, but they both hold their hands.

“We had our time together – you and that boy have so much ahead of you.” Kali says to her with a smile and she sniffles, wiping the tears from her eyes with her wrists.

“I never did like the boy, but he is devoted to you. At the end of the day, that is all I can ask of him to do. To keep you safe.” He says as he caresses her cheek and wipes the tears away from her eyes.

She smiles, and as she looks at them, a bright white light starts to form behind them, and they both fade away into the glare, leaving her on her own once more.

 

**Sun**

The Wukong boy looks around sharply after Loss managed to get into his head, her eyes managing to bury their way through. He stumbles across the dark landscape but when he walks, he looks down and he sees his mother on the ground, blood pouring from the open wound in her belly where Hazel stabbed her years ago. Sun gasps, dropping his staff and collapsing to his knees. He touches her body and shakes her to try and wake her up. “Mom? Mom!” He cries out, begging for her eyes to open.

They never do.

Tears start to leak from his blue eyes and he shakes her harder and harder and she never wakes up. But when he looks up, he sees her stood there, her silver eyes looking into his blue ones. He was never given the gift of her eyes, and perhaps she never knew how to unlock the power.

Perhaps Kragen Nox could have taught her if he managed to save her before Hazel got there with the disguised Acolytes of Lien. “Hello, Sun...” She says to him with a smile. “You have grown into such a handsome boy.” She says with a gentle smile as she caresses his cheek.

The sense of reality that the touch brings really hits Sun home, making him believe that it is real. He touches her hand with his own and he looks at his mother with scared eyes. “I miss you, mom...” Sun whispers.

“I miss you too, honey.” She says with a smile.

“But I know that this isn’t real.” He says. “It’s all happening in my head.”

“Yes...It is.” She says with a heavy sigh. “But that does not mean that it is not real.” His mother says to him. He looks at her with saddened eyes.

“What do I do?” He asks.

“What you have always done.” She answers. “Never let someone change who you are.”

 

**Kassius**

He is the last one to experience the effects of the two Knights.

He opens his eyes, finding himself in some sort of house, it is not worn down or anything like that. It is actually quite nice looking, he slowly stands up and he is relatively fine, surprisingly in the circumstance. He still holds Lash Equinox and he walks around slowly. He examines the area, finding himself recognising some things.

This is definitely some sort of hallucination set in a real place from his memory. He finds a photograph and he picks it up off the table and looks at it. He sees himself in the picture when he was younger. Before he lost his arm. His mother is in the picture but no father and he has Yang around one shoulder, both smiling happily. She has two little ponytails of deep blonde coloured hair down her shoulders, she must have been little at this point. Kassius is two years older than her but he has always been her best friend even before that became romantic when they both became older. But in his other arm is another girl with blue eyes and black hair. She smiles as well but not as energetically as Yang. She has pale white skin and she leans into her brother’s side. She is the same age, perhaps a twin sister, and clearly he has always looked after her.

He walks through, past a coat hanger, but when he walks past, he does not notice it beginning to move by itself, almost like it is alive. He starts to walk up the stairs, looking around the area of his old home. “Hello?” He calls out.

There is a tepee stood on the landing of the first floor and he looks around. But he stops when he hears a music box starting to play inside of it and he turns around to look at it quizzically. The music starts playing...

...a _very_ familiar song.

“There was a crooked man...” It begins, a child singing the song happily with others singing with him, singing the peaceful little nursery rhyme. Kassius looks at it and he slowly and cautiously approaches it, looking at the machine as he crouches down. “...and he walked a crooked mile.” The device continues. “He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.” The song continues and Kassius enters the tepee, looking at the machine as it spins round and he looks directly into it to see the tape that is rotating round inside to show a stop-motion animation of an illustration of something. “He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.” The song continues as he looks at the illustration.

There is a man walking with a cane inside, just a loop of him walking with what looks like a limp, but is jolly as he walks, taking his hat off to imaginary people who pass by. He wears a dress suit and trousers and shoes that are all coloured black and red. “And they all lived together in a little –” The song ends there and the drawings of the _Crooked Man_ disappear into just a plain piece of paper.

Kassius looks at it with confusion, his eyes turn to a drawing on the floor.

It is the _exact_ same drawing of Mr Hyde that Yang saw. His eyes widen and he looks straight forward and he screams in terror.

Mr Hyde is right in front of him.

“Boo!” Mr Hyde shouts with a big smile on his crooked face. His eyes glow bright red and he is a carbon copy of the drawing that Yang saw. Kassius throws himself from the tepee, crawling out as the tepee falls onto Mr Hyde who is still trapped inside of it. There is a terrifying laugh coming from the tent. The table sheet starts to rise up as Mr Hyde stands back up. Kassius stares in disbelief to see that Mr Hyde is actually real. Suddenly Hyde darts into the wall with a loud bang and the wall starts to crack violently, plasterwork and paint chipping off as the cracks fissure across as Hyde aggressively moves through the building above him. Mr Hyde’s cracking walls suddenly erupts into a wardrobe that opens and he is stood there with the Walking Cane in his hand. “Ah-Ha!” He laughs as he runs across the bed and jumps at Kassius.

Kassius draws his sword and swings it straight at Mr Hyde, slicing through him. Hyde erupts into a swarm of crows that all fly through the windows, shattering them as they depart from the scene, cawing loudly, disappearing. He looks around and he starts running to find a way out of this nightmare. Another Mr Hyde appears before him. “Let me take control!” Hyde begs like a child before swinging the rounded end of his cane straight at Kassius. Kassius lifts the blade of Lash Equinox up and he cuts his cane in half. “Oh come on!” Hyde exclaims before erupting into crows as Kassius stabs him with the blade.

Kassius kicks the door down into his parent’s bedroom and he gasps when he sees who is on the ground, on her knees before him. His eyes widen in disbelief.

It’s Ilia.

Ilia looks at him with fear in her eyes and he walks towards her slowly. He stares straight at her and she is whimpering with fear. “Kassius – I tried to warn you – but they were gonna kill me...” She stammers with fear. Kassius glares at her and he does not even notice Mr Hyde appearing behind him, multiple duplicates of him approaching him from behind to whisper in his ear, acting as his devil on his shoulder.

“Come on! Finish her!” One of the Hyde’s demands to him as he points his cane at her. There are five of them all around him, speaking at once to get him to kill her.

“Look at her, she’s no better than the coward who hid behind a mask to kill your team, your girlfriend.” Mr Hyde whispers into his ear with a smirk on his face.

“You need to do something.” Mr Hyde whispers, taking his top hat off for a moment as he says it. “You need to _stop_ her from doing the same thing to Yang.” Mr Hyde says, now Kassius has Vulcan Nox aimed at her head and Ilia whimpers in terror, her hand held up for mercy.

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They all repeat it at once, over and over again into his head as he stares at Ilia.

And then there is a loud bang, and the sound of her body collapsing to the floor with blood leaking from the wound. But when he does it, he realises that she was never there, and now all the Mr Hyde’s have up and vanishes from the scene. Kassius stands there, feeling unaccomplished, like he has not avenged his teammates, and he falls to his knees, clenching his hands into fists.

She keeps on getting away.

And that is what he fears.

Never getting vengeance.

 

**Qrow**

Qrow looks upon them all, seeing that they are all incapacitated from either fear or heartbreak, on the floor from what they did. He then focuses his attention on Fear and Loss who are walking in front of Cinder, Hazel, Mercury and Emerald, and wherever the Onyx Phantom is hiding. Qrow growls in anger, holding his sword tight. He, Raven and Winter have not been manipulated yet, but the night is still young, despite the sun in the sky. Fear laughs maniacally, throwing his back backwards as he laughs and Loss just walks around as the others get back on their feet. Raven turns and she can see Ren and Kassius getting back up slowly, able to shake their fears off faster than the others. The rest are still incapacitated. “Wow! Would you look at that? All it takes is a simple idea and look what the damage is!” He cheers with amazement as he looks at them all on the ground.

“This is between us, Fear.” Qrow snarls. Fear laughs at him.

“Indeed. I believe it is, now – where were we?” He asks as he spins Formido Falcem through his fingers, slamming the Scythe Blade into the soil. Loss draws her bow and aims straight at the three of them, her blue eyes fixed with them.

Qrow stands in the middle with Raven on his right and Winter on his left. Ready to fight the two Knights.

“Kicking _your_ ass if I remember correctly.” Qrow says.

“You’re a brave one.” He chuckles.

They engage in combat again, but during the battle, Cinder turns and stares at Jaune, forming her bow again and she stands back up, walking towards Jaune on the ground. She draws the bow back and aims the arrow straight at him.

She could do it.

Right now.

But she is struggling to release the arrow, she grits her teeth and is desperately trying to do it, but something is stopping her. “Why can’t I do it?” She screams in anger at herself, throwing the bow on the ground.

“I know why.” Kassius says, making her eyes widen and she turns.

“Who are you?” Cinder questions.

“You know who I am – Sapphire.” He says, causing Cinder’s expression to transform into confusion.

“What?”


	17. Sapphires and Snowflakes

**Winter**

Fear soars across the skies of the Emerald Forest in his huge rotten Bat form, the torn wings blocking out the rays of light shone from the sun. Qrow pursues after him in his crow form, whilst Raven and Winter battle against Loss in the forest. Winter forms a Glyph that sends her darting forwards, slashing her swords across Loss’ side. Loss grunts and she thrashes her Tonfas at her with force and agility, ducking down to avoid the glyph shells that are launched at her from the Schnee Girl. Raven sprints at her and she brings her Odachi round with force.

Loss crosses her Tonfas over each other, stopping the red blade in its tracks and then she jumps in the air, flipping backwards and kicking Raven up the jaw with force. She lands straight in front of Winter and punches her in the chest with her Tonfa. Since her Aura is still up, it does not cut into Winter’s chest, but it still sends her flying through a tree from the impact.

The massive bat spins round and the wings spread outwards. The form shifts back into the cowl wearing Knight of Fear, the wings flapping to keep him airborne as Qrow flies towards him. Qrow shape-shifts back into his human form as he jumps at Fear, driving his sword through him as they both plummet down into the trees below. Qrow tumbles across the floor and Fear manages to stay in the air. “You know what you’re daughter’s gonna bring us?” Fear asks him as he hovers above him. “The power to make _real_ change to Remnant and that terrifies you.” Fear says, his golden eyes glowing viscously as he stares down at the Huntsman beneath him. Qrow tilts his head with a smirk.

“Pretty much nailed it.” He answers, pointing his sword at the Knight, the blade folding down so the gun is pointed straight at him. He fires a shell straight into his shoulder and it knocks the Knight from the sky and he crashes into the floor. He drags his Scythe across the soil, tearing up roots and grass from the soil. He stands tall and spins it through his fingers, slamming it down behind him as he glares at him. Qrow sprints towards the Knight of Fear and the Knight charges at him, they both jump towards one another. Fear grabs him and throws him further, smashing him through a tree. “Stop throwing me!” Qrow winces as he rolls off the shattered tree.

Qrow looks over his shoulder to see Fear jumping towards him with the jagged, curved blade of his Scythe held above his head as he leaps at him with a gritted smirk across his insane face. Qrow grabs the sword and rolls out of the way, missing the impact of the blade by an inch. He immediately turns and starts to attack Qrow with force and speed, every attack is slicing entire trees in half. Qrow is using his skills to defend himself, still unable to go on the offensive against him. But he notices a weakness; his legs are thinner and less armoured than the rest of his body.

Qrow smirks, stamping down onto his shin and sure enough, one of the bones snaps underneath the rotten skin. A haunting cry of agony erupts from his jaws as they stretch unnaturally, his hand clenching into a fist. Qrow yells as he jumps in the air and scrapes the blade of his sword across the chest of Fear and he starts to attack him whilst he is down. The slashes and slashes and slashes, cutting the rotten skin robes apart, revealing the skeletal body underneath. Fear snarls in anger, grabbing Qrow by the throat and lifting him off the floor, choking him with his famine cursed hands, snarling up at him as he holds him high above his head. “I’m gonna make sure that your baby girl suffers a terrifying fate.” He promises as he turns and launches him across the forest again.

Raven swings her Odachi swiftly, cutting the arrows of Loss down before they even reach her, swinging the sword in one hand as she destroys them. Raven sprints at Loss and she kicks her in the side of the head. The kick is a pretty good one as well, making her stumble and giving her time to attack aggressively with the red bladed Odachi. She gets a couple well placed hits in before Loss grabs the veil and goes to stare at her. Raven quickly and smartly shuts her eyes and ducks down to avoid the Medusa’s Gaze. Her eyes glow bright blue as she stares, and whilst she is stood there, Winter jumps at her from behind and kicks her in the spine. Combined with the velocity of her speed from the Glyph that threw her, the impact launches Loss straight across the blade of Raven’s Odachi as she rises up. Expecting the fight to be over, Raven opens her red eyes and nods.

Winter gasps when she sees Loss rising back up behind her, staring at them with her veil of shadows dropping back over her face so then they cannot see her face clearly. She holds her blades tight as she stands there. “Leave.” Loss demands.

“I don’t think so.” Winter says to her as she pulls the Lesser Sword from her Primary Sword, her large blue eyes glaring right at the mysterious Knight. Loss stands ready as she spins the Tonfas back round so then the blades are faced towards them. Raven and Winter look at each other and they nod as they get ready to fight her again. They both run towards her and Loss sprints at them, slamming both Tonfas against their swords as they attack, holding them both at bay. Loss jumps in the air and kicks them both in the chest to push them back. She then rushes towards Raven, performing impressive acrobatics and agility as she spins round, like a pirouette of razor sharp blades that cuts across her aura.

Winter slams her blade across Loss’ back to move her back and as Loss rolls backwards, she quickly connects both Tonfas together, forming the bow. A glass arrow forms from the embers that she can manifest like Cinder can. She draws the glass arrows back, three in one shot and she launches them all at her. Winter gasps, generating a glyph under her feet that sends her soaring into the sky, narrowly dodging the arrows. Loss looks up at the smirking Schnee.

But then...

Loss does something that Winter never expected.

A white, Schnee – Shaped Glyph, forms under her own feet, one that Loss has created and she leaps into the air, higher than she is right now, moving faster and stronger. She then forms another Glyph behind her and she presses her feet against it, hurling herself at Winter. Loss grabs her and they both crash into the soil beneath them.

Raven’s eyes widen from the shockwave, seeing Loss with her heel pressed to her neck and Winter strains. “How – How can you do that?” She strains to breathe.

“The Schnee Family name started somewhere...my sister is the one that had a beautiful family – mine was taken from me.” Loss snarls with anger in her voice as she spins her Tonfa round and goes to plunge her descendant in the chest. Raven appears behind her and pushes her Odachi through Loss’ back and out her ribcage. She knew that it would not kill her that easily, but she pulls her away from Winter and kicks her off the red blade. Winter gasps for air and she regains her strength, still looking at Loss who has revealed her true heritage to them.

She is an Ancient Schnee.

Only now does it make sense, when she pulled the veil back, the black hair turned snow white, just like their hair is. She stands tall, glaring right at her younger family member. “How is this possible?” She questions.

“Some Schnees kept their honour; others had that honour stolen from them when their loved ones were slaughtered.” She says mournfully.

Winter stands there, some red marks on her neck from where Loss had pressed her heel across her throat to suffocate her. She touches the marks and then looks at Loss again, after realising this dark, dark truth. One of their ancient family members is a Knight of Grimm, and whether this could bring further dishonour to their family name is to be debated at a later time. Loss is still trying to kill them.

Winter scowls at her and forms a Glyph behind her and Raven forms a portal as well, one that she can move around quickly with. Loss stands tall with her hidden black hair blowing in the wind, manipulated to change colour so then none would recognise her true colours. Loss stands there and a glyph forms behind her, bright and swirling behind her. Even Winter is challenged for her abilities now, for Loss has been able to hone her powers for far longer than she has. Than any Schnee has been able to.

 

**Kassius**

“So this is what you have become?” Kassius questions as he stands in front of Yang, not letting Cinder get close to her. Cinder is lost for words, unable to understand why he called her Sapphire. But he does not change his stance or his position, he is devoted to protecting Yang at all costs, holding Lash Equinox in both hands and he has loaded fresh rounds into his Vulcan Nox gun bracers. Cinder stares at him as she walks, fire running down her arm and into her palm.

“You are bold to challenge a Fall Maiden.” Cinder says to him as she walks.

“I know you better than you know yourself, Sapphire.” He says, repeating that exact same name again. And it seems to anger Cinder further. Her eyes snap and she forms a fireball.

“Stop calling me that!” She yells as she throws the fireball at him, the swirling ball of fire flies straight at him and he puts his shoulder into it as it hits him, the explosion surrounding him and not harming Yang on the floor still. He is thrown across the field and he tumbles across the floor. His armour is burning from the explosion and some damage has been done. The fire burns across one side of his face and he screams in agony from the pain that he is suffering from as the fire scolds his face. The fire does not rage and it seems to extinguish fast. Smoke trails from his burnt face, but he stands back up, not backing down as she approaches him, staring at him. “My name is Cinder Fall.” She says to him.

Kassius looks through his partially blinded eyes and he stares at her, the burns have extremely damaged his face. The explosion has blown a couple bits of skin off; he now looks a lot different. But he does not stay down; he gets back up and stares straight at her, ignoring the pain across one side of his face. “I know who you are, Sapphire.” He says again, truly testing his luck with Cinder after what has just happened. She glares at him. “I know that you are lactose intolerant, I know that you could never do your laces up yourself and that your mother had to do it for you, because your father and brother were never there.” Kassius explains as he stands tall, staring her right in the eye.

 Cinder’s exposed eye ignites with rage, gritting her teeth as she glares at him with furor, and her dress glows across the black glass-like shards that comprise her Fall Maiden Dress. Dust forges around her hands, igniting and melting together into her Obsidian Bow, drawing back the bowstring with an arrow attached to it. “My brother died right in front of me! Don’t you dare bring him into this!” Cinder shrieks with rage, launching the arrow directly at him.

The glass arrow soars directly towards the wounded man but he swiftly ducks down, pressing his metal hand against the floor, the scorch marks across the metal plates shown from where she did damage to him with her previous attack. He immediately rises back up and starts to fire Vulcan Nox at her. She forms a fire barrier from the element of fire itself which burns the bullets before they even get close enough to hurt her and she sprints towards him, jumping in the air as she launches another arrow at him.

Kassius' eyes widen and he crosses his swords over one another to block the arrow from hitting him in the chest. The obsidian arrow impacts the blades with a loud bang and sparks erupt from the impact of Obsidian and Metal interacting in such a violent way. The impact pushes him backwards and he tumbles across the floor, dragging his sword into the ground as he starts to fall off the edge of the cliff. The blade drags down with him as he falls until he manages to wedge it somewhere it will stop him.

He can barely open his jaw without being in pain; the burning is getting worse, the skin burning up and cracking up with scar tissue already beginning to form on his face. Like the flesh on his face is constantly being sawn of by a white hot blade constantly. Cinder pursues to the cliff edge and she looks over at him and she stares straight at him. Kassius looks up at her through the burning flesh on his face.

Yang moans in pain from what Fear did with those hallucinations. She looks around and she can see Mercury, Emerald and Hazel retreating for whatever reason, they have been ordered to.

Something has changed. But she notices very quickly that Cinder is missing.

And so is Kassius.

She turns and she sees Cinder stood at the edge of the cliff with her bow drawn back. “Kas...” She gasps.

Cinder launches an arrow at him and he rips his sword from the rock and jumps away. As he moves back, he aims Vulcan Nox at her feet, loading a new type of ammunition that he has added. A high explosive shell, and he fires, sending the shell into the rock and it creates an explosion that causes her to fall down with him. They both plummet into the trees, crashing through them with the loud claps of tree branches snapping as they crash into them with force. Kassius rolls onto the floor after crashing onto the soil, his face still burnt across the side where Cinder threw the fireball at him. Cinder drops down from the trees with a grunt.

Not the best landing strategy.

He grabs the side of his burning face with pain but he shakes it off when he sees that Cinder is getting back up. He takes Lash Equinox and holds them both up, as she turns around she forms her blades as well. “You don't want to do this.” Kassius strains as he holds the pain at bay.

"Really? You think you know me? You have no idea of the sins I have committed!" She shouts as she sprints straight at him. Kassius springs into action, smashing the blades of his metal swords against her Obsidian ones and he backs up as she aggressively attacks him. Before they even realise, they have approached another edge. Kassius scrapes his blade across hers and then he smacks his head into hers to make her stagger back. She grits her teeth in anger and channels fire from her shoulder and into her hand, unleashing a cloud of fire at him as he sprints extremely quickly. The fire consumes the trees and he drops down, sliding under a felled one.

He gets back up and he drop kicks her in the chest with both feet. She is launched backwards and she rolls across the floor.

Cinder rises to her feet, forming the Obsidian Bow again to take him out.

But Kassius is gone, missing from her point of view.

Her amber eye scans the forest, the many bushes that surround her rustle faintly around her, it could either be wildlife of Kassius slowly moving around her in the shadows. In which it is him, keeping his body close to the grass and only one Lash Equinox Blade in his grasp, held up the back of his forearm and elbow. “Oh trust me, Sapphire...I know the things you have done.” Kassius assures as he encroaches her.

“Impress me then.” Cinder challenges, slowly walking around and using her acute hearing to figure out where he is hiding.

“I know you slaughtered two innocent Huntresses in the Fall of Beacon and murdered the previous Fall Maiden in order to attain her powers.” Kassius tells her, as he walks around her in the bushes, and she carefully looks around, ready to strike at any moment.

“You would have been informed.” Cinder states, unwilling to understand how he knows her in such a personal way, naming her with a different name than anyone has ever called her by.

“I know you survived on the streets of Vytal by stealing from people and taking mercenary contracts before you ended up in Prison, and with Salem.” Kassius tells her, and that revelation causes her to stop in her tracks. Her eye widens with shock, stopped like a deer in headlights with both Obsidian Blades in her grasp.

“How could you possibly –?” She stammers, unaware that he is now stood behind her, staring directly at her with his blue eyes.

“And you betrayed everything your brother every wanted you to do with your life.” Kassius sternly snarls, and her eyes narrow with rage, causing her to spin round and her eyes to ignite with flames, drawing her bow after connecting both blades together.

“I did not betray him!” Cinder yells out, drawing her Obsidian Bow and launching an arrow directly towards the Huntsman. Kassius swings the blade of his sword at the arrow and manages to deflect it into the floor without flinching, still managing to ignore the searing pain on his face. She adds another bow and draws the bowstring all the way back as she glares at him with angered eyes. I had nothing left to fight for!” Cinder roars with rage, gritting her teeth together with pure rage and anguish in her amber eye.

She releases the arrow and it soars towards her sternum. Kassius smirks under the shadow of his partially burnt Stetson and he throws his sword up in the air to catch it in the correct position. He then brings the blade round at great speed and force and he manages to carve the obsidian arrow clean in half, creating a long thrumming sound as it cuts. The arrow halves shoot away from each other and stab into the tree behind him.

Cinder looks at him with disbelief in her eyes. Kassius winks at her with a smirk still on his damaged face. She yells in anger as she runs at him and Kassius runs at her. Kassius blocks her attack as she leaps at him and slashes her swords at him. He then parries her as she attacks and he swings the sword across the aura shield that surrounds her body. She turns and swings both blades at him with enough force to break through a concrete wall. The impact sends sparks dancing across the floor with a loud bang that echoes through the forest. Kassius kicks her in the chest to get her away from him so he can back up. He takes both swords and bashes them against her blades with force to make her stagger back now, gaining the upper hand as he fights.

He slams his sword into each of them and the two blades are thrown across the ground, bouncing and sliding along the soil. He grabs her and throws her straight into a tree with the strength of his cybernetic arm. The tree collapses upon impact, shards of brown wood being thrown into the air as she crashes into it. She tumbles across the soil, dragging her hands into it, the fire burning into the grass and causing smoke to rise. She starts to use her Fall Maiden powers again to get the upper hand that she has lost from his better swordsman skills. She holds her hands up to the trees and the leaves turn brown and crisp as her autumn abilities come into play and she pulls them away as her eyes erupt into flames. The ice freezes across them and she points her hand at him, sending a whirlwind of sharp leaves headed towards him.

Kassius spins his swords through his fingers with enough speed to turn them into the propellers of a plain, slicing them all into tiny pieces before they touch him and he keeps on walking towards her. No matter what she does, he cannot be stopped or even intimidated by her powers. She starts to run out of leaves and that is what Kassius is waiting for. He brings one blade up sharply, slicing it across her aura and dress and she staggers back. Kassius powers his cybernetic arm up and he sends his fist into her face.

The impact creates a loud bang and throws her across the ground. She tumbles and rolls against a rock with pain in her eyes and face.

She rises up to her knees, looking at Kassius...

“Why can't I ever be good enough?” Cinder whispers sombrely as she starts to sob. Kassius stands there, looking at her. She then looks at him and she shows her scar to him. “You see this? This is what happens when you fail her!” She shouts in anguish as she shows the scar of the handprint on her chest.

Kassius looks at it and there is a kind of pain in his eyes that is not related to the burns across the side of his face. This is deeper, more emotional. He has a connection with Cinder of some form...

_Family?_

_Girlfriend?_

“We can help you.” Kassius says to her, sounding very remorseful after the fighting he was committing to against her. Cinder scoffs, looking at him with tearful eyes.

“Help me?” Cinder laughs. “I have killed a member of your family...responsible for the death of a little girl, she may have been a machine, sure...but she was still a friend. Another part of your family.” Cinder says sorrowfully. “I saw the hate in Jaune's eyes...and I don't blame him.” She says.

“I can talk to Jaune.” Kassius says.

“Why?” She questions as she looks at him. “What am I to you? Why are you calling me Sapphire?” She questions loudly with her hands tensed into fists. Kassius stands there, still holding Lash Equinox. He flicks them upwards, and the blades fold backwards, back into the hilts.

He looks at her.

“What has Salem done to you...do you really not remember? Sapphire is your name, your _real_ name.” Kassius says.

“Who are you?” She questions, with ever so slight hints of recognition pulsating across her face.

Kassius doesn't answer yet. “If you won't answer...” She says, as fire begins to charge down her arm. But before she even finishes, Kassius engages the swords again and he sprints straight at her, moving the blades towards her vulnerable throat.

 

**Loss**

She launches herself straight at Winter and Raven, slicing her Tonfas at them both with force, the impact creates a loud blast that sends them all flying through the air. Loss remains in place, her glowing eyes glaring at them. She forms a glyph beneath her heels and she darts towards Raven and she grabs her by the throat, dragging her across the ground and pinning her against a tree. She goes to stab her with her Tonfa but Winter stops her as she wraps her legs around her neck and throws her into the ground with force.

Loss yells, crashing through the soil and rolling further. She rises back up and stares at them both as she connects her bow back together. She jumps into the air and launches an arrow down at them both. Winter forms her Summoned Beowulf and it stands tall, roaring at the Knight and she glares at the creature as it sprints straight at her with anger in its eyes. She aims the bow at the charging Beowulf and launches an arrow straight into the chest of the creature, killing in instantly.

Winter stands there and she groans. “Really?” She sighs.

Loss shrugs as she stands there, then they continue their fight. Raven sprints at her with Winter at her side and they decide to use an overwhelming tactic on her to see if that works against her. Raven forces her Odachi at the Knight and Loss snaps the Bow in two, back into Tonfa Form so then she can fight them both at close range. The constant clanging sounds echo through the leaves and Raven presses the red blade against her Tonfas.

She is kicked in the chest and then she grits her teeth in anger at the Knight. She sheathes the blade and switches it to one that uses fire dust instead. The red blade is replaced by a glowing orange, flame coated blade that she spins round skilfully and she swings it with force, launching a blast of flames at her. The fire sticks to Loss’ Combat Dress but has practically no effect since it is not made of fabric; it is made of some kind of spiritual energy. None of them are physically organic, they just look like it. She swings the heated blade and slices it clean through the tree, burning it down as the fore roars constantly.

Fire and Ice.

Winter forms a glyph that freezes Loss’ legs together and Loss growls in frustration as she tries to break free. She then forms her own glyph that shatters the ice around her legs and she jumps in the air. Loss creates a powerful Glyph that she launches an arrow into. This Glyph has an effect never seen before.

The arrow is charged with extremely powerful energy that creates a powerful explosion that knocks the two huntresses to the floor. She lands down before them. A red flash of energy passes across Raven’s body and white energy crackles across Winter’s. They are both aura-less, unable to fight any further. Loss looks at them both.

She could end them right now.

But unlike her other three, she is not sadistic or cruel or merciless. She is actually kind and honourable. “You poor things...” She gently says, turning to walk away. Winter sits up and looks at her.

“Who are you?” Winter yells and she stops, turning to look at her.

“Starla Schnee...” She says, before changing into a Mourning Dove and fluttering away from them, leaving them.

And she let them live.

 

**Fear**

Qrow yells as he lunges at the Knight of Fear, the sharp blade of his massive sword scraping across his face. Flies and maggots crawl from the wound and he laughs maniacally. “Imagine the pain that she is going through right now, Qrow!” He laughs as he fights him.

“Shut up!” Qrow screams, transforming the sword into the Scythe and he slams it straight into his chest. Fear picks him up and smashes him into the ground with force, before sending his skeletal boot right into his chest, kicking him across the area. Qrow grunts as he bounces like a stone across water as it skips along. He grabs Qrow by his face and punches him over and over again in the face. Qrow points the explosive gun at Fear’s feet. The explosion makes him stumble and gives Qrow the chance to punch him in the face.

But unlike Tyrian, that punch nearly breaks his hand and Qrow growls in pain, shaking his hand. Fear goes to grab him again, but Qrow takes his chance and he swings the blade of his sword upwards, straight through the Knight’s wrist, cutting it clean off and then he takes the sword with both hands and slams it straight into the Knight’s chest, knocking him back. He makes his counter-attack, rushing forward and applying several fast slashes with his sword, the red trail following behind the red blade as he fights, cutting through the armoured skin around his body that he wears like a poncho.

Fear rolls backwards and his wings fold out from his cape, swinging downwards to allow him to jump high in the air. He rises up and he reaches to something inside his back, pulling his Crossbow out and aiming it with one hand as he fires it at Qrow. Qrow shields himself with his sword, deflecting the arrow with one swift movement as Fear remains airborne and he dives down towards Qrow.

Qrow is good in a fight.

But he is no Knight.

The Knight of Fear grabs him by the neck as he dives down and smashes him into the ground and he drags him through it before holding him in the air and throwing him into the ground one last time. That attack is the one that completely wipes his aura out.

Fear cracks his neck.

The Knights are stronger, smarter and better in every way. He can hold his own against people, but to fight the Knights, you cannot do it on your own.

Qrow sits up with a dazed expression as he tries to get up, even though he should retreat.

But Fear does not seem interested in killing him.

At least not yet.

Fear stands tall as he walks through the forest with Formido Falcem in his hand. Qrow is exhausted from their battle, the ground is torn up and the trees knocked down. Fear chuckles as he walks around him. “Astonishing...” Fear says as Qrow is on his knees, struggling to get back up from Fear’s aggressive combat. “Such brutality.” Fear says to him as he walks towards him, dragging the curved blade behind him in the dirt, his glowing golden eyes fixated on the Huntsman as he stands there. Qrow holds his sword in the dirt, and he knows that Fear is messing with his head again; he can hear Summer and Ruby’s screams of pain in his head as they are tortured in his mind. It might not be real...but for Ruby...it could be very real.

“I have seen your past – Qrow Branwen.” Fear says as he walks around the Huntsman, the blade dragging right before his eyes, faint screams echoing from his very form as he stares at him. Making his hairs stand on end. “You have been across Remnant, claiming to do the good work of all the people in the world...” Fear says to him with a mad smirk on his face.

Qrow grunts in pain and distress as he holds the hallucinations back. “You tell yourself that you are not like us, that you are better than those who see the real threats of Remnant. Humanity – Faunus. Atlas – White Fang. Grimm – Silver Eyed Warriors. Both sides of the coin believe that they are the centre of Remnant, but you and I know the truth. There is so much more going on than these petty rivalries.” Fear explains as he walks around Qrow.

Fear then walks up to his side, his rotten face staring straight at him. “But your actions reveal your true self. You are no better than the criminals that you challenge, you kill without hesitation, and you take it upon yourself to do things that are outside your control, as Ozpin did with poor sweet Pyrrha Nikos.” Fear explains, even mentioning the time they forced the Fall Maiden’s powers onto a sweet innocent girl.

Fear scoffs. “I mean that’s cruel even by _my_ standards.” He says.

“We didn’t have a choice.” Qrow says weakly as he tries to get up, staring at the Knight as he walks around him.

“Incorrect – all life has choice – and that is what makes life so dangerous. Everyone can choose to either give or take life, and that choice is what creates countless wars. Freedom breeds chaos, and that is why we have returned, to bring an end to that chaos once and for all.” Fear explains to him. “You can try and defend what family you have left, Branwen, but eventually Death will claim them as well. Their nightmares will control them to make decisions that will crumble their very convictions that they believe in.” He says as he stares down at the Huntsman.

Fear presses the scythe to his throat and he prepares to behead Qrow. “Goodbye, Qrow Branwen.” He snarls.

“Stop!” Loss shouts and his golden eyes turn before his head does. He looks at Loss and sees her walking towards him.

“Why?” He asks.

“We do not _have_ to kill everyone.” Loss says. “Not yet.” She adds as she stands there and Fear gives a really confused look.

“Our purpose is to cleanse life.” Fear states.

“I know that – but we do not have to be unnecessary.” She says. Fear rolls his eyes and he goes to do it anyway. She sharply draws her bow back, aiming right at him. “Don’t think I won’t stop you, Fear.” She snarls and he chuckles as he turns to face her. He looks right at her and she keeps the bow trained on him. He holds his hand up in the air to surrender and he sighs, quickly taking the Scythe from Qrow’s throat, sparing him.

“As you wish – Ice Queen.” He says to her with a smirk. He walks towards her and she lowers the bow. But when he walks away from Qrow, he gets up and stares at them.

“Running off again?” Qrow laughs at him. Fear stops and looks over his shoulder, his glowing gold eyes fixing onto his. He then turns round and faces him fully.

“Who said anything about _running_?” He asks, his wings folding out and then his body transforms. Each layer of rotten skin that he wears around his skeleton changes, transforming into the bat. The body of the bat forms together as the bones crack and change into place. He spreads his torn wings out and the bat’s glowing eyes are still fixed onto him. It has Vampire Bat like fangs and long pointed ripped ears. The Bat screeches at him and swings the wings with force, lifting itself into the sky as it flies off. Qrow looks at Loss and he sees a hint of kindness on her face as she gently fades into a Mourning Dove instead of a horrible transition into a monstrous bat.

Qrow stands up, feeling lucky to still have his life after that conversation with Fear, watching the two Knights leave.

 

**Kassius**

Kassius has the blade of Lash Equinox pressed to her throat, stopped as if time has paused. She remains still as she feels the cold blade against her jugular, waiting for him to do it. To end her constant state of fear that she lives in every single day. “What are you waiting for? Finish it, kill me and avenge everyone who died because of me.” She begs. Kassius looks at her with concerned eyes and he remains there for a couple more seconds.

“No.” He says, taking the blade from her neck and he rises back up.

Cinder looks up at him with a widened eye, mouth slightly agape at his mercy. “I will not lose another family member.” Kassius says to her. “I know you are still in there somewhere – sister.” He says to her, revealing how he knows that name.

Cinder's eyes widen in shock when she hears him say that and she gasps. “No...” She says, standing back up, walking away a little from scepticism. “No...” She repeats with even more shock in her vocal tones. “My brother died a long time ago...I watched him die.” She says to Kassius. Kassius sighs and he takes off the stetson so then she can see his full face.

He closes his blue eyes as he stands there and she watches intently, and when they open...

They are amber coloured.

A perfect copy of her eyes.

Using the age old technique of using the aura in their body to change the colour of their irises.

Hiding their identity.

Proving that they are twins. And it is at that moment that she truly believes, she has never known anyone who has eyes as perfectly the same as hers, and with the shadow of the stetson now no longer hiding his face. She can perfectly see that it is him. For however long it has been since she has last seen him...she still cannot recognise him, but she knows that it is him. “Kassius...” She gasps in shock. She looks at him with amazement but also like she is dreaming. Kassius puts his stetson back on his head as she looks at him. Her memories seem to return almost instantly, like some kind of dark magic was blocking them slightly so then she could not recognise him.

Meaning Salem must have known that he survived. “What happened to you?” She inquires when she looks at his cybernetic arm.

“I have accepted the path I was given, and I have forgiven you for your path. Now you must forgive yourself." Kassius says as he places his hand on her shoulder, walking past the confused girl. "We all find a time in our lives when we take turns from such paths – it's time for you to decide which side you really think you should be on. It’s never too late to come back.” Kassius says to her as he walks towards the edge where he can look out at the area.

She stands there and she stammers. She then turns, feeling the fear if failing Salem again as she forms an explosive arrow in her hand and pulls it back, aiming it at his back. “Real life is not like the stories our mother told us! You are fool if you think you can be a hero in this world! I have seen the horrors that Salem has created!" She yells to him.

Kassius turns to her. “Perhaps I am a fool to truly believe there is still an inch of Sapphire Locke, my twin sister, left in you. But I do.” He says to her.

Her eyes widen when she looks at him, no longer angry at that name since she is beginning to remember what she chose to forget all those years ago. He holds his hands out to her. “But it is not a decision for me to make...it is up to you.” He says, letting her decide if she wants to kill him or not. And he is putting a lot of trust in Cinder right now. She aims at him and she grits her teeth, her fear of Salem makes her want to do it. But knowing that her brother has been alive after all these years – and that he does not hate her – that gift of family that she had lost for years...

She slowly lowers the bow and smiles at him.

He smiles back.

Until Yang jumps down behind Cinder and all she sees is Kassius at the edge of a cliff and Cinder aiming the bow at him. “Kassius!” She screams. Cinder jumps in with shock, and she accidentally releases the bowstring.

The arrow is launched from where it was and it stabs right into the ground at his feet.

A Salem Eye forms with a chilling screeching sound as the energy swirls beneath him. Kassius' eyes widen and Cinder reaches out to him. “Kassius!” Cinder screams in terror, not meaning to actually fire that arrow and Yang gasps.

The arrow explodes underneath him and the blast sends him into the air, chunks of burning rock are thrown at him, blowing parts of his face apart on the same side he was burnt, making the damage and scarring worse. Smoke trails from the side of his face and he plummets down the side of the cliff and Yang gasps in terror.

She sprints straight past the shocked Cinder Fall...or Sapphire Locke...who is too horrified from what she just did to him. Yang looks over the edge and sees Kassius falling, smashing against a rock on the way down that damages his Armoured Suit that he wears, causing it to fragmentize upon impact and he rolls onto the floor. Smoke still leaking from the side of his face which took the brunt of the explosion. Blood leaking from his wounds.

Yang stammers in fear, hopping down and sliding down the edge of cliff to go after him. She lands right next to him and holds him close. There is a lot of blood on the side of his face where the explosion has extremely damaged his face. Deep gashes across his face and scorch marks that made the previous ones look like little burns. She shakes him to wake up, and nothing happens. “No...No...Come on.” She whimpers as she holds him.

He lays there in her arms.

Suddenly a very loud and raspy gasp erupts from his lungs and she yelps with relief, her hands pressed to the side of his face to stop the bleeding as best as she can. “Kassius!” She shrieks with relief to know that he is not dead. The damage is bad, and it will definitely leave scars on his face for the rest of his life. “Hold on, Kas...just hold on.” Yang begs as he vomits blood from his lips from the haemorrhaging that he is suffering from.

Yang looks up at the cliff face where Cinder was, and she saw her reaction when she accidentally launched the arrow.

She didn't mean to.

And she is gone.

Cinder has vanished without a trace.


	18. Injured Warriors

**Yang**

Yang holds her hands to the side of Kassius’ face, trying to hold the pain back; he growls in pain at the suffering that he must be going through right now. She looks up the side of the cliff where he fell and she sees Ren stood up there with Nora as well. “Yang!” Nora yells, sliding down with Ren behind her to get to Kassius. Nora gasps with shock when she sees Kassius on the ground. Parts of his cybernetic arm have been badly damaged, pieces of metal and circuits blown open and cracked from the explosion of the arrow. Sparks leak from the holes in his arm, his hat is on the floor, scorched and broken on one side of it, smoke rising up from the crest of the hat from where the flames damaged it.

“What happened?” Ren asks her.

“I screwed up!” Yang panics as she holds the side of his face.

“Yang!” Ren shouts to get her attention. “Calm down and tell us what happened.” He says to her. She breathes deep to calm her hyperventilation down. She closes her eyes but she can still hear the sounds of pain that he is making in her arms.

“Okay – I saw Cinder aiming her bow at him – but she was lowering it...I panicked though and I shouted to Kassius and it must have frightened her. She accidentally let go of the string and the arrow exploded and he fell from the cliff.” Yang explains, looking up at the edge of the cliff above them where he fell. He holds her hand tight as he grunts in agony.

The world seems to spin around him, a constant throbbing sensational pain running across the side of his face and on parts of his torso as well where pieces of superheated rock have been lodged through his damaged armour. The pain is so much for him that he wants to be sick, and he already has been, but not vomit, it was all blood that came from his mouth. The explosion must have ruptured some organs inside of his body to cause so much pain for him and Yang is panicking, uncertain of what to do next. His wishes to be sick is like when someone can feel the hurling phenomenon building up in them, like some form of relief that can end the suffering. But from the scorching feeling across his face, it will not end there; it will just get worse and worse if he doesn’t get medical attention soon. Surely there is an end to this pain. Soft moans and grunts escaped his lips as he rests the other side of his head to her arm and she caresses him gently, caressing his hair with her hand. The damage did not rip out any hair from his head but it stretched straight across the left hand side of his face, from the side of his lips on that side and all the way up to his ear, damaging it as well. Some bits of hair are burnt off but not much.

Yang stammers fearfully for the health of her boyfriend and she looks at Ren and Nora. “Come on, we need to get him out of here.” Ren says to her, helping her lift him up. He groans in pain as they lift his body up, taller than both of them, both arms around their shoulders as they pull him towards a hill that can make it up.

Nora’s cyan coloured eyes widen in shock and she turns when she hears an extremely loud bang behind them.

Suddenly a kinetic shell darts towards them. “Look out!” She yells. The shell narrowly misses them, exploding right behind their feet. Ren looks back and so does Yang, even Kassius does and he goes to point Vulcan Nox at the shooter, despite the damage he has suffered.

Stood amongst the trees is the missing enemy of theirs.

The Onyx Phantom stands there, holding the Railgun of hers in one hand, staring straight at them with the trench coat blowing in the wind as she glares into their eyes. Her glowing orange eyes never leaving theirs. Nora grits her teeth with anger and she takes Magnhild and charges towards the assassin to kick her butt. Until the Onyx Phantom thrusts her hand forward and there is a deep rumble. Nora is lifted from the floor, unable to breathe as the Phantom uses her telekinetic powers to hold her up like that, staring straight at her.

Ren gasps and he immediately springs into action, aiming the two Stormflower Pistols at her. “Nora!” He yells, pointing them both at the mysterious assassin. “Let her go!” He threatens. She says nothing, her orange eyes staring at the floating girl who struggles to breathe from the invisible force that chokes her like this, rippling air like heat channelling through her arm and into her neck to hold her up like that.

As the Phantom stands there, she receives orders from Salem’s Sanctum. “Kill her.” Watts orders and the eyes of the Phantom squint coldly. She then swings her arm sharply and sends Nora flying into one of the trees and there is a loud crunch from the impact, and then she throws her straight into the ground, after her aura is destroyed. Her body is buried in the dirt and Magnhild lies on the floor beside her motionless body. Ren’s eyes widen in horror. “The Visionary Book has been destroyed, return to base.” Watts orders. She stands there and turns to leave, but Ren sprints after her to attack her for what she did to Nora.

But she turns around and sends a powerful blast of energy into his chest, sending him flying backwards. She stares at him and then walks into a black portal that forms before her and she vanishes into it.

Like a Phantom.

Leaving them all alone.

Ren’s attention turns to the motionless Nora on the floor and he immediately gets back up and sprints to her side, scooping his arms under her little body and he also takes the hammer with him. “Hold on, Nora.” Ren begs as he carries her, her head rested against his shoulder.

Yang holds Kassius in one shoulder, but they turn when a red portal opens and Raven steps out. “Come on!” She yells. They all run into the portal, or at least Ren does, Yang helps the wounded Kassius inside of it and Raven walks in behind them, letting the portal close behind them all.

The portal sends them all back to the surface where the fight took place initially. Everyone is on the ground, and when Yang helps Kassius through, she gasps when his eyes roll into the back of his head and he collapses from her arms, crashing onto the ground with force. “Kassius!” She screams with fear. She immediately goes to his side and Ren looks at Nora. She isn’t dead, but she is also injured, probably suffering a concussion from what the Onyx Phantom did to her.

But if the two of them do not get Medical Attention soon...

They will _both_ die.

But Yang is so shocked from what has transpired in the course of a few minutes that she is lost for ideas, unable to think clearly, she just looks at Kassius as she turns him over, seeing he is passed out on the floor, his blood on the grass. Raven looks at Yang, seeing her scared and hurt. She knows that they need help, so that is what she does. “Kassius and Nora need medical attention!” She says to her, but she doesn’t think that she can hear her. She grabs her chin and turns her face to look at her mother, her real motherly instincts kicking in to get her little girl to listen to her. “We have to leave the Emerald Forest.” Raven says to her to get it into her skull.

“I – I know.” Yang stammers.

“We need to get them both to Slate, he is the Tribe’s Doctor, he can help them.” Raven says to Yang to convince her into making the right decision.

“Okay...get us to him.” Yang says to her mother and Raven nods as she forms a portal. Yang strokes Kassius’ face and looks at Nora in Ren’s arms. “Hold on, guys.” She pleads. The red portal forms before them and she looks around, seeing everyone is starting to get back up after the effects of Loss and Fear have worn off, but they have been emotionally and physically drained from them.

Qrow sees Kassius on the ground and he takes his legs and Yang take his arms as they both pick him up, lifting him up to carry him through the portal behind Ren and the others follow in from behind. Raven walks forward. “Slate!” She calls out as they enter the Tribe Headquarters, the portal closing behind them when everyone is back inside. A man runs round the corner, tall with silver hair and brown eyes. His eyes widen when he sees the two badly injured individuals.

“By the gods...what happened?” He asks.

“Things went bad. Can you patch them up?” Raven asks him with a concerned tone.

Slate walks over to the two injured individuals and he looks at the damage, first at Kassius’ face and he thinks. “I’ll get my team together; we’ll see what we can do.” He assures. He whistles and some men all jog over and they see the injured Huntsman and Huntress on the ground, where the Onyx Phantom had wounded her. The men help pick them both up and they carry them towards the hospital. Yang and Ren go to follow but Raven stops them by walking in front of them.

“Let them do what they do best, we can only hope for the best now.” Raven says to her daughter. Yang and Ren look at each other, terrified for the people they love and Yang yells in anger, smashing her cybernetic fist into the wall. Weiss quickly goes to put her hands on her head but immediately lowers the, pacing around the area. They are all emotionally weakened. But as they stand there, Yang turns to  Qrow, and he is remaining quiet.

They all know his secret now, and she storms up to him with a stern look on her face. “How could you lie to us like that?” Yang snarls as she stares him in the eyes, and Qrow looks down at her, guilty.

“Yang...” He sighs.

“Don’t – _Yang_ – me.” She spitefully growls, pointing her finger at him.

“It’s complicated.” Qrow says to her.

“Oh it’s complicated!” She scoffs, walking around.

“Hey, I had to keep those secrets to keep you all safe!” Qrow argues as he paces after her, reaching for her hand, but she rips her hand from his fingers forcefully, turning to stare him in the eyes with disgust.

“Do not touch me!” Yang shouts with rage, her eyes flushing red with rage, her blonde hair glowing bright gold, her fists clenched as she stares into his eyes.

“I have had to keep a lot of secrets from people I care about to prevent panic from spreading.” He says, but everything that comes out of his mouth just seems to anger Yang more and more.

“I don’t get you...” She stammers, her hand on the side of her face.

“How would I tell you that your sister is actually your cousin?” Qrow questions.

“I dunno – just _say it_?” She suggests with a bewildered expression.

“I was trying to protect all of you.” Qrow says.

“That is a load of garbage, Qrow, and you know it.” Yang snarls. “You just couldn’t bring yourself to face the truth, could you? I would have rather you tell us that way, instead of learning about it from that monster.” Yang hisses.

“I knew you’d react like this.” Qrow says, and Yang gasps when he says that, her eyes bulging from her head.

“How would _you_ react? You’ve been lying to us, for years, our entire lives...” She says coldly with gritted teeth. “...if you died, Ruby would have never known that her real father had died.” She scoffs. She then thinks of something that actually makes her afraid, her lilac eyes looking at him. “Did my father know?” She asks.

He looks at her, and from the expression, it is clear that he knows that Taiyang knew the truth as well, because he asked him to look after their child. And despite all of that, she remained faithful to Qrow even when he was gone for years. When Yang comes to think of it, she never saw Tai and Summer ever kiss. Never...and it also now makes sense why he was broken when she died.

How do you explain to a child that is not even theirs that their mother has died? And then how do you tell those children that Qrow is actually her father, not her uncle like they believed.

His cursed Semblance has caused a lot of problems for their family.

Yang stares at Qrow with angered eyes. “Who are you?” She questions with narrowed eyes.

“Come on, firecracker.” He says.

“Don’t.” She sternfully says, pointing at him with cold eyes.

“You know who I am.” Qrow states.

“Do I? How many other secrets do you have buried inside of you?” She asks him, and the lack of an answer is all she needed. She looks at him and she shakes her head. “I’m going to keep an eye on Kassius, but stay away from me.” She says coldly, storming away from Qrow and following where Slate took the guy she loves with all her heart. As she storms away, she wipes a tear from her cheek with her hand, sniffing. Qrow stands there with anguish in his heart, closing his eyes regretfully for keeping the secret from her, his head lowering down.

Qrow looks back and sees everyone parting, Ren following Yang to check on Nora. Jaune slumps down against the wall, closing his eyes as he thinks about Pyrrha, from what Loss shown him back in the Emerald Forest. Winter is stuck with the thoughts of Starla Schnee, it changes everything in their family and she sits with Weiss who is sat next to Neptune who is still shaken from what he saw. The dam...the water...his fear of water is not so funny anymore.

Qrow looks at his sister and she sheathes her Odachi, walking aside so then everyone can sit down. She turns when one of her men approaches. “What happened down there?” He asks her.

Raven looks at the broken Huntsmen and Huntresses. “We took a hit, we can shake it off.” She assures.

“You asked me to tell you if he wakes up.” He says to her. Raven’s eyes widen and she looks at him.

“Taurus is awake?” She asks.

“Yes.” He answers.

“Take me to him.” Raven orders, running with him to where he is being kept. Blake’s eyes widen and she looks at Sun. He stands up and follows her, running with her to follow Raven. Qrow is about to follow her, until he notices a doorway opening.

Kragen Nox emerges with his staff in hand.

“Well...this all seems horrible.” He says.

 

**Raven**

Raven opens the doors with the Tribesman and Adam is already up, a nurse checking his vitals. His horn is snapped and has a bandage on the nub. His bruises are still there, but luckily are starting to fade. He turns when he hears the doors bursting open, he may not be able to see, but he can hear just fine. His shattered mask on the table next to him. The nurse sees Raven and she nods, leaving the room so then the three of them can speak to Adam in private. She closes the doors and locks it behind them. The Tribesman stands inside, clearly a trusted member of the Tribe.

Adam looks in the direction of which he can hear their presence. “Blake?” He hails, wondering if it is truly her in the room with him right now.

“Hello, Adam.” Blake answers.

He chuckles a little, grabbing his wrist and swivelling his open hand around. He already looks much better than he did beforehand, if this is the work of Slate, then hopefully Kassius and Nora will be up on their feet in no time. “Didn’t think I would be in _another_ hospital with you...again.” He chuckles, remembering back when he was made blind in the first place. After his father was killed in front of him, along with his mother.

“It does seem to happen a lot.” Blake agrees with a small laugh.

Raven crosses her arms, looking at the man that cut her daughter’s arm off, however she is not going to bring that up. They have more pressing matters to discuss, like what is happening with the White Fang right now. Things are extremely complicated with them. “What happened?” Raven asks him, and the blinded man looks at her through his scarred, clouded eyes.

“You mean – why am I on my own?” Adam translates.

“You weren’t totally on your own.” Sun adds. “Ilia Amitola saved your life, because Kassius saw her.” Sun explains and he starts to understand a little more now.

“She told me about what happened with that...” Adam sighs, shaking his head.

“Why’d she do it?” Raven asks him.

“She told me that the Knight of Fear and the Onyx Phantom tortured her into agreeing.” Adam explains, and that sounds about right for the Knight of Fear. He is a pretty sadistic monster. “For some reason they want him, because of his semblance.” Adam explains and they all seem to understand it all a lot better now, ever since learning about the existence of Mr Hyde.

“Hyde...” Blake says quietly in realisation.

“They see him as the perfect weapon and they knew she was a trusted friend of theirs. She wanted to leave the White Fang once and be a Huntress, like Blake. But after the Fall of Beacon...she came back...and the Knight found her.” Adam explains to them all, piecing the moments all together.

“And then the Phantom killed his team...his girlfriend.” Sun concludes.

“Exactly.” Adam says. “And with Mazen and the Albains?” Adam puffs. “They became so loyal to the cause of war against mankind that they have become almost fanatical, taking in any that are as fanatical as they are and rising against the others.” Adam explains, and Blake takes a couple steps forward, sitting down on the bed beside him.

“Are you?” Blake asks him, and the question makes him look at her quizzically.

“Am I what?” Adam inquires.

“Still hating the Humans?” Blake clarifies. He pauses for a few moments, thinking about his answer.

“We have bigger problems to face right now – I don’t know if they are worth being friends with – but for survival? I will give it a chance.” Adam says to her, and that fills them all with relief, knowing that he knows the stakes that have appeared now. A smile appears on Blake’s face and she looks at Sun who smiles as well.

“Now that’s the real Adam I remember.” She says, making him turn to look at her. “The one that wanted there to be _equality_ not _war_.”

Adam sighs as he looks down at the floor. “You do know that I have been told about what you did to my daughter, right?” Raven asks him, which creates an ice cold mood in the room, one that frightens all of them, since he is an individual that should not be messed with. He looks up at her and she has her arms crossed.

“I was wrong.” Adam states, not expecting forgiveness, just to make her realise that he knows that he made a mistake.

Raven does not respond, but she moves back onto the real issues, the ones surrounding the White Fang. “How many other outposts are there?” She asks him. Adam thinks to himself, trying to remember back to get the best possible answer.

But it is increasingly difficult.

He sighs. “It’s hard to say, I have been out of it for a while now.”

Blake turns to Raven with an idea. “Sienna Khan might know.”

 

**Qrow**

Qrow walks with Kragen Nox down the halls of the Tribe, he has a slight limp after his tangle he had with Fear, but it is no worse than what he suffered against Tyrian. He has had much worse in the past against enemies. He was just lucky that Fear was stopped by Loss, otherwise he would be dead right now. “I did not expect them to have figured out the Visionary Books by this point.” Kragen says to him and Qrow looks at him.

“So you definitely didn’t send us into a trap?” He presumes.

“Why would I risk the only people on Remnant I trust with stopping those damn ghosts for a book? It doesn’t make sense, Qrow...we are all in this _together_.” Kragen explains as he walks, using his Staff as a walking cane.

“I wish the rest of Remnant would see it that way.” Qrow scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“I have been expressing those same feelings.” Kragen chuckles. Qrow and him continue to walk around the interior base and they both approach an opening where snipers can stand. The wind blowing inside and they look at the destroyed remains of Mistral, left to become filled with dunes of dust. Kragen crosses his arms, looking at the ruins. However, it is clear that this has become no small surprise to him, if he really has existed since the Arkhoni were around, then he has seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of ruins. Qrow turns to the Silver Eyed Veteran, and he has questions.

“Did you know what we would find?” Qrow asks him.

“I had a pretty good idea.” He says.

“So you knew about Vex’s island?” Qrow catechises, quizzing information out of him so then he knows what he is dealing with. It is an old method he learned back in the old days of his efforts as a Huntsman.

“I had my suspicions of that place...and since they have a young Silver Eyed Warrior...they are already one step closer.” He says.

“Then there must be a map?” Qrow guesses.

“Somewhere, yes...and I think I might have another suspicion of where.” Kragen tells him.

“Where?” Qrow inquires with wide eyes.

“There is an old ruin in the outskirts of Vacuo, I will have to go with you on this journey. It is called the Library, we had many but it, to my knowledge, the only one that is still intact. If we can gain access to the Library, there are ancient books, including another Visionary Book that could give us more hints of where Salem and the Knights are holding her right now.” Kragen explains.

“You know how to get in?” Qrow questions.

“Indeed...I remember some things – however we would have to take a small team. After the Emerald Forest, they managed to pick you all off one by one.” He explains.

“And having less of us would be easier?” Qrow scoffs, misunderstanding his point.

“You don’t understand the Knights like I do, the more threats they face, it can make them more dangerous. And with less of us, we can be more stealthy. And the place is probably falling apart and filled with traps, rather keep a tight bunch.” He explains to him with a shrug.

“Okay – that’s a start – and the map could lead us there?” He asks.

“It could – but there is an issue.” He says.

“What?” Qrow asks.

“The Storm Barrier, we need a Young Silver Eyed Warrior to gain access, only the power of their eyes can part the clouds the way needed, and they have the strongest of them all.” Kragen explains, hearing him describe Ruby this way makes Qrow feel happy for her but also afraid. It is such a privilege to have powers such as that, but it is also such a burden with the monsters that will hunt her because of them.

But then, the Branwen has a thought, like a light bulb flashing atop his head. “What kind of damage would the barrier do?” He asks him, Kragen looks confused.

“Enough to ground us there...why?” He asks.

“Could we survive the crash?” Qrow asks.

“If we’re lucky.” Kragen states.

“If Raven’s with us, then the luck will be balanced.” He assures. “We just need a craft tough enough to withstand the storm long enough so then we get through the storm-wall and we land on the island and regroup when we can.” Qrow explains. “Not the neatest way, but the Acolytes would expect us to be dead if they manage to get through.”

Kragen plays the odds over in his head, and despite the madness of the plan...

The madness might give them the edge that they need against them. “We’ll think about it.” He says to him and Qrow agrees on that. The two of them look out constantly, just letting the cool breeze blow against them.

There is something that has been on Qrow’s mind ever since the Forest Battle in Mistral, seeing the woods across the landscape reclaims the memory into his mind. He looks at Kragen and then back at the woods. “Did you ever meet Summer Rose?” He asks him. Kragen pauses before answering.

“I never had the pleasure.” He responds formally. “But I heard she was a lot like her daughter.” Kragen says to him, his staff in both hands, like he is a samurai who is praying to his gods.

“In every way...” Qrow quietly says, still deeply in love with her. “...I saw her.” He says and that truly catches Kragen’s attention in a very different way than it has before, his head quickly turning. “Raven and I were fighting Death after helping Team R.W.B.Y, and when Death was about to finish us off, she appeared behind him...she destroyed him in a beam of light.” Qrow explains.

A smile appears on Kragen’s face, like he knows the answer to the question. “What is it?” Qrow inquires.

“Have you ever heard of the Squires of Light?” Kragen asks him, as if he is a teacher. Qrow eccentrically looks at him, never hearing of that tale.

“Old Oz never told me this fairy tale.” Qrow says, and Kragen laughs.

“Oh, this is no fairy tale, son.” Kragen promises. “The Squires of Light have existed ever since the God of Light relinquished his powers and became the world around us, he exists in us all, guiding our way.” Kragen illustrates. “When we die, we become a Squire of Light, given the chances to return to the physical world for a certain amount of time to speak to loved ones and to guide them through their lives.” Kragen explains to him with a smile on his face. “Tell me, was she surrounded by a bright white light, looking just as alive as she did before she passed?”

“Yes.” Qrow quickly answers, remembering what she looked like by the detail.

“Then that is what she was.” He says. “The Squires of Light are everywhere...here to guide us during our darkest days.” He explains, his hands held out...but he pauses and then he looks colder. “And that – is what Death wants to control.” He says to Qrow.

“The dead?” Qrow assumes.

“Many believe that the Knight of Death has nothing to fear, but he fears people cheating him, being able to return and challenge them even after they die. He is becoming more and more powerful, and many believe that he is creating his own Squires of Light, ones that serve him and him alone.” He explains.

“What are they called?” Qrow inquires.

Kragen looks right at him. “The Onyx Brotherhood.”

 

**Yang**

Yang is sat down outside of the hospital where Kassius is being treated.

Hours have passed, she turns and gasps when she sees Slate stepping out as the door opens, still wearing his operating clothes as he walks over to her. Ren is inside as well and they both stand up, wanting to hear news about their partners. “Are they okay?” Yang asks with a nervous voice. Slate holds his hands up to them both.

“Don’t worry, they’re both stable. Nora should be up soon anyway, she is a tough egg. Nearly as tough as your boyfriend.” He says to her.

“Will he be okay?” She asks him, and despite him telling her that he will be, he still seems to have some bad news to break to her.

“We did all we could for him, but he took a bad hit. We managed to repair most of the damage but it will scar him for the rest of his life. We have repaired the cybernetics and stopped the haemorrhaging. Best we can tell – he’ll have full functionality, but –”

To their awe...

The door opens and Kassius walks out and looks straight at Yang, his stetson already back on his head, cracked and scorched across one side of it. The side of his face is scarred badly and from what they can tell from the shirt he is wearing right now, she can see the scars are also across the side of his neck, shoulder and probably across his chest. The explosion did some pretty gnarly damage to the left-hand side of his body. The plates are partially cracked on his arm, but they did a good job fixing it.

Yang gasps with happiness and amazement. “Yang.” Kassius casually greets with a smirk.

“Kassius!” She squeaks with happiness and Ren smiles with amazement as well to see how fast he has managed to recover from what happened to him. Kassius walks towards them.

“Nobody would hand me a mirror, how bad is it?” Kassius asks as he gestures to himself. Yang crosses her arms and she smirks, following up with a witty comment.

“Hell, Kas, you were always ugly. Slap some face paint on their and nobody would even notice.” Yang says with a smile. Kassius starts to laugh but he gasps in pain, touching the still fresh scars on his face.

“Argh...damn...don’t make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is.” Kassius advises, still chuckling. Yang smiles but also feels a little bad for his pain. But she doesn’t regret the joke. Kassius shrugs. “Some girls find facial scars attractive – mind you most of those women are from Vacuo.” He says and Yang shakes her head. Ren looks through the window where he can see Nora in the bed still, bruised but alive and stable. Slate notices and he opens the door.

“Go on in, she’s stable.” He assures.

“Thank you.” He sighs with relief, walking into the room. Kassius looks at Yang and there is one big thing on his mind.

“I guess you – want an explanation – about Cinder?” He guesses, since he knows she saw all of that happen.

“Later, you need rest.” She says to him, holding his hand.

“Nah, come on, I’ll tell you all about it.”

 

**Ren**

Ren sits beside her, holding her hand and he hears a small moan of awakening emerging from the usually hyperactive girl, he looks at her face. Her large cyan eyes open up and they immediately look for him, and their eyes connect and she smiles. “Hey you.” She whispers.

“Don’t ever do that to me again.” Ren begs with a worried voice, holding her hand tight. Nora grabs him and pulls him close, pressing her lips to his and she kisses her back, wrapping his arms around her, never letting go. They are all the family that they have, and they always will be. They break their kiss and Nora looks into his eyes with a sweet smile.

She prods his nose gently with her finger. “Boop.”

They both giggle.


	19. Challenging Death

**Kassius**

Kassius sits Yang down as he prepares to tell the story of how his relationship with his sister, Cinder Fall, panned out. Yang has tied her long blonde hair back, returning it to the ponytail that she had back home, looking at him as he prepares to tell the story. Ren has also come over to listen as well, since Nora needs time to sleep. They both sit down before him with their arms crossed, desperate for some answers. Yang wants him to feel comfortable so she does not push him for answers, but she also does not want to be lied to.

She has had enough of lies lately.

Kassius exhales, scratching his cheek. “So then – where would you like to start?” Kassius asks them both.

“You said – Cinder is your sister?” Yang asks him curiously.

“Well, Sapphire is.” He corrects, and they both look at him confused.

“I don’t follow.” Ren states.

“Her real name is Sapphire Locke. My twin sister, we were very close growing up, but unlike the rest of the people who trained at the academies, we did not have semblances.” He explains to them both. “She was bullied for it more than I was, since so many other kids in our school could do things that she couldn’t. I could handle myself against the pricks, but she was always so much smaller than me, and softer. She got hurt a lot at that school; we both don’t have many fond memories.” He explains.

“I don’t remember seeing Cind – Sapphire at Signal.” Yang thinks back.

“That’s because we weren’t there at that point. Remember that we only first met when you were fourteen?” Kassius asks her, and Ren looks at her.

“You started dating her when she was fourteen?” He asks with a worried expression on his face, and saying it that way makes it sound _even worse_.

“Oh no, I only looked out for her...no...” Kassius explains. “This whole thing only started when I was seventeen, and I was about to leave Signal to go to Haven...I wouldn’t really even call it dating at that point. We just got close.” Kassius clarifies, and Yang agrees with a smile.

“It worked out.” Yang proudly says with a toothless smile.

“Then...where were you two at?” Ren asks Kassius. Kassius clasps his hands together and leans forward.

“We were born and raised on the island of Vytal.” He announces, and their eyes widen in disbelief. None really thought that the island was even habitable anymore, or that there were any people living on the landmass itself.

“Vytal?” Yang questions.

“Yep.” Kassius confirms.

“I never realised that there are people living there.” Ren presumes.

“Oh yeah, there were some people that lived there. Not many, mind you, but it was still something. The Academy we were raised at, essentially, was called Skyline Academy.” He explains. As Yang listens, she notices that he used one word that makes her a little anxious of where the story is going.

“Why did you say _were_?” She asks him.

He huffs. “The entire island fell, we didn’t have the defences required to survive there for long. Whole island was destroyed too fast for us to call for help.” He explains to them both and Yang gasps mournfully for his sake.

“How did you escape?” Ren asks.

“Well...I was lucky...” He says. “I was with Sapphire when we were running from the Grimm, I managed to get her to the other side, but when I tried to make the jump, a Terror Bird grabbed me and dragged me into a building, it attacked me inside and nearly ripped me apart, nearly killed me. Nearly ate me alive.” He explains and it adds to the suffering that he had to go through. He then lifts his shirt up and shows his back to them both.

“What’s a Terror Bird?” Yang asks with fear as she sees the scars.

“Think of a very nasty ostrich...still haunts me to this day...surprised that Fear didn’t show me that when he messed with us.” Kassius explains.

Yang looks at the scars as she can’t help but gasp.

There are multiple deep clawed scars covering his back and cracks in his body where the Terror Bird’s claws and beak had sunken in. “I nearly died, if it wasn’t for the Huntsman that saved my life and got me to safety. I never knew if Sapphire made it...until now...she believed that I was dead for years, it must have broken her. After our mother passed and father left us both to live in an orphanage, we were all we had. We looked after each other, kept each other alive every single day.” Kassius explains. He turns and there are even more scars on his chest as well, where it must have tried to disembowel him. There are even a couple of scars across his neck as well, along with his shoulder, chest, legs...

Pretty much everywhere.

_What could that thing have done to him?_

But Yang can’t stop feeling for him, the suffering that a sixteen year old boy had to suffer through. Nearly being eaten alive by a Terror Bird. He was so lucky that it didn’t do more damage to him, but then again, that is all he showed. He may have more scars on his legs, she can see some scars on his human arm. “I’m so sorry, Kassius – I never realised that – that you suffered like this.” Yang stammers as she looks at his shirtless body. But not from awe of his toned physique, more from the amount of scars that cover his toned body itself. She walks over to him and she immediately wraps her arms around him, burning her head into his shoulder. And now there are more scars to add to his personal collection from his own sister accidentally blowing him up with one of her arrows. Yang gently moves her hand up the scars on his back and she can feel how bumpy it makes his spine feel. They are so deep...no boy should ever have to experience so much pain. Kassius holds her gently as well, his hand cupped to the back of her blonde hair and the other working its way across her curvy waist to bring her comfort.

Ren sits there and he smiles, he doesn’t normally see Yang like this. Kassius caresses her cheek when she releases him but still sits next to him, her hand in his. Ren can clearly see that the history of that monstrous Terror Bird attacking him must bring up some horrible memories, so he brings something else up instead. “What was Vytal like? You know – before it all was destroyed?” He asks him.

“What was it like?” Kassius questions.

“Yeah, I mean all the stories I heard about Vytal, it made it sound so perfect.” Ren assumes.

“Well – perfect to _look_ at maybe.” Kassius says to him. “And it was...it was beautiful.” Kassius begins as he leans back against the spine of the chair. “Saph and I used to call the field we lived in the Ebony Expanse, in the colony of Bleakburn, stood Skyline Academy.” Kassius explains, falling into a memory.

 

Floating through the breadth of his mind is the island of Vytal. Stretching across are verdant emerald fields of bladed grass with thousands of little, pretty flowers where bumblebees and other insects pollinate happily, buzzing around. Ocean blue skies and the gentle waves of the sea swashing against the golden beaches, deep blue like the sky that looks over them with a not-so-fierce sun in the sky. Sat in the field are two little kids, playing happily in the flowers with a young mother stood there. She has amber coloured eyes and long black hair that blows in the gentle wind. She has a ring on her finger but there is no sign of the father. The two children are twins, one girl and one boy. They are not like other siblings, more like the relationship that Ruby and Yang have, one of love and friendship. The little boy looks across the fertile waves of grassy ocean and he sees the towers of the Academy.

It has a trio of sharp towers that nearly pierce through the skies, similar to Beacon’s towers that stood, a beautiful show of architecture designed by some of the most ingenious people in the world. This must have once been a Kingdom in the making. They were raising students here and they must have been some of them. “Sapphire and I – we were inseparable. We always looked out for each other.” Kassius narrates as his mother watches as they play. The mother is very beautiful, just like Cinder is, behind the shroud of what she has become.

The memory swirls like a painting into a circular carpet with young Cinder sat on the carpet with her legs crossed, building a tiny boat in her hands with some of the pieces with her brother. They both look up and they see the door open and their mysterious father walks inside. Cinder is more excited to see him than Kassius; her brother hardly even looks up. Clearly he was not as love-struck as his sister, she always wanted to make him smile, sought his admiration more than anything. She tries to show him her little model, but the father just pats her little head and makes his way up the stairs with his bag over his shoulder. A crushed look of sadness passes into her face and she lowers her model and looks at the floor, Kassius looking at his twin sister sadly. They must have been ten at this point. “Our father – hell I don’t even know how to talk about him. We never saw him enough to have an opinion that was actually positive, whenever we did see him it was just him saying goodnight, and then we’d never see him again for another year.” He explains to them all when looking back on his past with his sister. “He did not earn my love, but Sapphire...she kept on trying to get him to see her...but he never did. He was too busy with his career than bothering with his own family. Whenever he was here, with mom, we would always hear them arguing every single night.” He sighs, like he can hear it all again.

More time passes in these memories of his time with his sister, they are now both twelve years old and they are both at the school. Little Cinder is found sobbing in a corner after a group of bullies starting picking on her because of how she never had a semblance. Tears filling her large amber coloured eyes, she wraps her arms around her knees to cry into them. When he walks through, younger Kassius looks at her and crouches down beside his twin, hand on her shoulder. She immediately hugs him and tells him what happened in his ear. Anger can be seen on his face and the whispers of Mr Hyde start to guide him to punish them. He stands tall and storms towards them, his eyes do not turn red but he scares them, grabbing one by the collar and lifting him off the floor. The bully screams in terror, kicking his skinny legs as Kassius holds him up with one arm, even as a kid he was incredibly strong, both physically and mentally. And he seems to have always hated bullies more than anything. “They bullied her because she didn’t have a semblance?” Yang asks him as he remembers.

“Yes, and I never wanted her to be hurt. I found her crying on her own, a black eye once because one girl was threatened by her resolve despite her differences.” Kassius explains to her.

“What did you do to the bully?” Ren asks him.

“I was going to return the favour, but I let Sapphire do it.” Kassius says to them.

“Why?” Yang asks. Kassius sighs.

“Because I might not always be there to protect her...I wish that I was though.” He sighs sadly, thinking about how she has become Cinder Fall.

He believes that the little girl that he grew up with is still in there somewhere.

Salem did not corrupt her completely, she couldn’t have.

As time passes and they grow up, they can be seen covering each other in fights against bullies, back to back when put in a circle against many bullies and they start to fight them all. Cinder sends her fist straight into the side of a bully’s jaw, knocking him on the floor and he starts whimpering from the punch, young Cinder staring him down. The two siblings must now be around fourteen years old. Kassius kicks one in the chest and immediately punches one straight in the face, giving him a thick black eye, snapping his glasses from how hard the punch he delivered was. The punch launched the bully into the air as well.

Cinder then performs an acrobatic kick in the air that sends a bully straight into the crowd of people watching and cheering them on. All these kids with their own semblances, getting their asses handed to them by a pair of twins that have no semblance whatsoever. “We covered each other in fights; we became one hell of a duo, one that they literally couldn’t tear us apart from. But outside of school – we were still the same kids doing the same stuff.” Kassius explains.

He remembers back as the two kids are helping each other cook. Cinder is trying to cook spaghetti in a saucepan filled with boiling water and she carefully puts the hardened, uncooked, pasta into the boiling water, jumping from the loud hissing sound. Kassius is also cooking the Bolognese along with some pancakes. He backs up and Cinder watches him as he flicks the frying pan to send it upwards. The pancake launches into the air and Kassius goes to catch it but it completely misses and lands on the floor. His failure makes Cinder erupt into laugher, nearly falling over from laughing so hard actually. He immediately goes to clean it up, laughing as well. Sat in the dining room is their mother, and she doesn’t look well. Her once healthy tanned skin now turned pale and bags under her eyes. Her hands shaking as she tries to pick up the fork on the table.

When they serve the dinner, they both help their mother steady her hand, and she smiles at her beautiful children, caressing their cheeks as they look after her. “Our mother was getting ill, and our selfish father was too pathetic to face her, be there when she died. Left us to handle it.” Kassius explains.

In the morning, Cinder wakes up in her pyjamas. They are deep red with golden markings on them, much like her old dress that she wore years later. She sits up, her amber eyes wide and a gasp on her face as she looks out the window where the rising sun is. She throws the bed sheets off her small body and she sprints to her window, looking out and seeing their father walking away from the house, towards an Atlesian Shuttle. Stood by the shuttle is what looks like a younger Jacques Schnee with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed. She immediately runs down stares when hearing her mother crying. Kassius is comforting her and she has her head in her hands.

Cinder sees a set of documents before her mother.

Divorce papers that have been signed by him.

Kassius looks at his sister and she looks at the door that is left open and she pursues her father, sprinting after him. Kassius leaves his sobbing mother for a couple seconds to go after her as she runs after her father. The father gets aboard the shuttle despite his screaming daughter who chases after her, and Jacques closes the door behind him. Kassius chases after his twin sister and she reaches out for him but Kassius wraps his arm around her, stopping her so quick that her legs kick upwards. She still reaches out to her father with tearful eyes and a traumatized look on her face. “He left us – divorced my mother and left us all behind.” Kassius explains with anger in his voice, remembering how he had to look after the heartbroken girls.

“He just abandoned you?” Ren asks.

“Yep.” Kassius sighs. “Left us to look after our mother as she slowly dies in front of us.” He says angrily.

“We should have forced him to stay.” The voice of Mr Hyde whispers in his mind, but Kassius ignores him and does not mention him to Yang or Ren since it does not matter. But he is right, they should have given him no choice, or at least understand why he left without a word.

“That was the last time we ever saw our father, he never told us why he left or where he went.” Kassius explains.

“That sounds familiar...” Yang quietly says, thinking of her own mother and the drama that she went through when just wanting to know who she is. At least she did get to know who she was.

Kassius and Cinder are still looking.

“Our mother died a few weeks after he left.” Kassius unfortunately says, his memory showing the crying Cinder at her deathbed, her hand holding her mother’s tightly. Her skin pale, eyes closed and tears still leaking from her closed eyes. Kassius stands there, no tears in his eyes, but he wants to. But he stayed strong, for her so then she has a shoulder to cry onto. “We were thrown out of our home and we never made it through Skyline Academy, we were living in the streets, surviving by the skin of our teeth.” Kassius explains. The two of them wander aimlessly through the streets of their town, covered in grime and wearing old clothes that have not even been washed in weeks, perhaps months. “But – it was just like school for us.” Kassius explains to them.

The two found themselves backed into a corner by some men with bats that wanted to hurt them because they were smaller. But they had each other and they fought them off. “We kept each other safe.” Kassius says as they beat the living hell out of the men that tried to hurt them. One of them grabbed Cinder by her long black hair and tried to pull her away from her brother. But she threw her heel back into his crotch and he cries out in agony and she spins round with her fist and punches him straight in the skull with force, managing to knock him out. She immediately performs a graceful roundhouse kick and takes out the other guy. They take the guys down, but things never went as they hoped it would for them. Sometime after that fight, Kassius helped cut her hair to be shorter than that, the same length that it was when she got Emerald and Mercury to help her, unlike the tied up hair it is in right now.

Perhaps one day she will cut it back to that shorter length again.  “But for us, well – I got us put into prison.” Kassius sighs and Yang listens intently.

“How?” Ren asks.

“Mr Hyde.” Kassius says. “We were asleep in the streets one night...and I had Cinder close to me to keep her safe, sharing warmth in the winter. That is what it came to for us, and when we were asleep, a guy grabbed her and tried to take her away. I don’t know what he did but she was crying, covered in bruises and some of her clothes were ripped. I assumed the worst and I hunted him down.” Kassius explains. In the memory he holds his twin sister close, wrapping the blanket around her and then he stands tall again, glaring at the guy as he tries to escape. Kassius grabs him by his hand and throws him into the wall. He picks up a brick and stares down at him.

“What did you do to him?” Yang asks.

“I smashed his head in with a brick.” Kassius admits, the moment passing, blood all over his body and the cracked brick that he still holds in his hands. His eyes glow bright red and they fade when he looks at her as she approaches him. But she does not hate him or be afraid of him for it, whatever that guy did to her...it was enough for Mr Hyde to crack and take full control to kill the guy like that. “Police showed up pretty quick, and we were thrown in a cell together. We both faced the same kind of horrors in there, but we protected each other, didn’t let any guys get close to her.” Kassius explains as they brandish shivs that they keep under their prisoner clothes. Cinder looks absolutely tiny compared to the others, but she is far from defenceless. They both look more like themselves now, sixteen at this point in the prison. Cinder looking almost exactly as she did when she was in Beacon, and Kassius just looks like an untouched version of himself now with a clean shaven face.

“We were in there for a couple years of our lives, we got out when we were sixteen, because that’s when Vytal fell to the Grimm.” He explains. The two of them take cover when the walls of the prison collapse as a Nevermore lands on the watchtower, roaring terrifyingly loud at them, picking a prisoner up and carrying him away, eating him alive. Prisoner upon prisoner were grabbed by the Grimm, being torn open by them all. Blood spilling everywhere. The two of them flee across the rooftops after climbing up the building as Griffons land down and swallow entire prisoners whole.

Kassius keeps her in front of himself and they both see the edge of a broken wall that they could escape through. He gets her to jump first and he goes to jump after her. “That’s when the Terror Bird got me.” Kassius says.

Kassius goes to leap and the massive bird clamps its huge beak onto his ankle as it jumps in the air and throws him into the ground. Cinder cries his name out and sees him getting dragged into one of the cells by the beast. The Terror Bird is huge, covered in jet black feathers of smoke and a white bone crest and beak with red energy flowing through cracks in the beak and the sharp scaly feet. The eyes burn bright orange with red energy leaking from them. The Terror Bird throws Kassius into the wall and Kassius grunts as he hits the wall and the Terror Bird clucks terrifyingly, the loud barking sounds echoing across the prison, it then charges at him and begins to attack him, slamming the beak into his hand with force. The impact is so hard that it instantly breaks his wrist. It bits into his shoulder and starts to drag him around, the beak penetrating through the skin and Kassius screams in agony as blood leaks from his wound, punching the Bird in the side of the head. But to no avail.

The Super-Killer-Turkey then starts to get even more aggressive as it bites and bites away at him. It slams the beak down onto his kneecap, snapping that as well and he screams in agony and it drags him across the floor and pushes him onto his chest, his blood smudging across the floor. The Terror Bird stands atop him and it takes its Therapod talons and drags them down his spine over and over again, creating a burst of excruciating agony for Kassius, agony he cannot help but wail from as it rips his back open from every single slash. Kassius lets out a powerful scram as the Terror Bird bites onto his shoulder again, wagging his body around like a chew toy, ripping a chunk of flesh from his arm, blood squirting out. The Terror Bird swallows the chunk of meat hole and looks at him, pacing around him and creating the same clucking sounds as it stares at him with those haunting eyes. The Terror Bird had slashed him down the back and shoulders around five times, which explains the scars down his back, drag marks of some extremely sharp and long claws.

Kassius has realised that there is no way out of this, so he applies a tactic that does work against Bears, some have managed to survive Ursas by playing dead. So hopefully it works against the Terror Bird.

But they are smart.

The Terror Bird looks at his motionless body, his blood leaking through his torn open prisoner clothes, turning them from white to red. The Bird tilts its head curiously and looks down at him, hissing sinisterly, its short feathered wings fluttering around as it investigates him, the blood covered feet with his skin and flesh still stuck on the talons pressing against his head, pushing it into the floor with force. Blood dribbles from the blood covered beak, onto his face as he lays there helplessly to the mercy of the monstrous Bird. Kassius closes his eyes, holding back that urge to scream in agony. It then backs up and looks at him. It growls and then arches its head back up before smashing its closed, blunt, beak into his spine, twice for good measure. Each impact creates thunderous bangs and cracks that echo through the cellblock that the Grimm Terror Bird has thrown him into.

The Terror Bird waits for some more movement to see if he is worth attacking any further, and Kassius remains still, trying not to breathe, winded from the impacts of the powerful beak hitting him that hard. He cannot stand, or even move his legs, the beak must have broken his spine. The Terror Bird walks away from him and begins to patrol through the cellblock some more to see if there are other people to be killed.

Kassius reaches forward slowly and starts to drag himself across the floor, bleeding into it and barely able to breathe from his breathless state. Blood is constantly streaming from his nose and mouth, along with the new gouges and scrapes down his back where the Terror Bird attacked him.

But he never should have moved.

The Terror Bird has returned and it saw him moving. The Terror Bird roars nightmarishly at him and charges straight at him, smashing its head into his side so he is flipped onto his back. The Terror Bird bites into his leg and then scrapes its talons straight across his throat, slicing through the skin and blood squirts out from the impact. The sound is nightmare fuel of the claws cutting through his neck like that, like leather being torn forcefully. He gasps for air, his hands gripped to the extreme pain. His eyes are wide as blood starts to pour from the wound and he reaches up in pain to stop the Terror Bird, but his suffering seems to usher it to get more aggressive. It bites his hand and breaks the other one and he screams through the blood in his mouth and gullet, gargling more like as the Terror Bird breaks his hand with one bite with that monstrous beak. To make his condition even worse, the Terror Bird smashes its closed beak into his chest again.

This impact is much worse, shattering his ribcage and rupturing internal organs. The impact sounds like a gun going off. The Terror Bird flips him back onto his chest and it drags its claws down his back over and over and over again, shredding the skin from his back and he continues to scream in pain as it is killing him slowly. Amazing that he is still alive through all of this.

More amazing that he is alive at all.

The Terror Bird bites into his shoulder and pulls back with force, ripping his shoulder blade out partially, tearing the skin open and blood pours out of his body and all over the floor, like someone has been brutally murdered in a gang attack. It continues to attack and he must be about to die soon. It actually bites onto his head and slowly begins to squeeze to crush his skull.

It would have been an end to his suffering...

If it weren’t for the man who jumped onto the back of the Terror Bird and pulled it away from him on the floor. The man pulled out a bow and launched an arrow right into its leg. The Terror Bird stares at him and roars aggressively, just before the Huntsman fires the arrow.

Sending it straight through its eyeball.

The Terror Bird twitches before collapsing.

Onto Kassius as a final insult, dissipating into smoke that rises into the air. Kassius lays there, bleeding to death and there is so much trauma that he should have died. The Huntsman flips him over just before he passes out. He has short blonde hair and he wipes the blood off the young man’s face. “By the gods...I’m gonna help you kiddo.” He assures with a smile, blue eyes looking down at him.

“The Huntsman saved my life, got me aboard a ship with some pretty neat medical equipment and officers. He told me that it wasn’t easy to keep me alive, but he managed it. They stopped the bleeding and repaired my bones with cybernetic implants that they had onboard. It took me a while to walk again afterwards...but after all of that...he saved my life that day. We both felt indebted to him.” He says.

“Who was it?” Yang asks.

 

He returns back to the present day, looking at Yang to give her the answer. “Taiyang Xiao Long, I don’t know why he was there but he brought me to Patch and – I guess you could say he _patched_ me up.” He jokes with a wink. Yang is shocked from what she has just learned about him...

His father...

Cinder...

The Terror Bird...

So many horrible things happened to him before they ever met...

And she never knew?

“How didn’t I ever know?” Yang asks him. Kassius sighs.

“I didn’t want to talk about it – I didn’t know if Sapphire made it out okay – but obviously she survived – and I guess Salem took her in.” Kassius explains.

“How did I never see the scars?” Yang asks.

“How many times have you seen me shirtless?” He replies. And when she thinks about it, she actually hasn’t seen him with his shirt off that often, he is like the polar opposite of Sun who could actually learn how to keep the shirt on for once. Yang is amazed that he survived. “And then...after all that, I met this amazing girl who may have been younger than me, who shined brighter than anyone I had ever known. Who would have thought that I would have fallen in love with that girl?” He chuckles with a smile as he looks at the beautiful blonde who smiles back, holding his hand tight.

“No boy should have had to endure what you endured, Kassius.” Ren says to him.

“Well – we all have endured some kind of suffering thanks to the Grimm.” He says, looking at Ren. He may not have been told about it, but he is very good at reading people.

He looks at Yang and he shrugs. “So that’s it – now you know everything.” Kassius says.

Yang giggles. “With you I doubt that that’s everything.” She says with a smile that makes him chuckle. “But – it’s a lot.” Yang agrees.

“What are you thinking?” He asks her. She smiles.

“I’m thinking you’re lucky my dad found you when he did.” She says with a smile.

“Yeah – that is the real reason why Mr Hyde respects your dad by the way.” He reveals, and it all makes sense as well. He did say that there are only three people in the whole world that Mr Hyde trusts Kassius with.

Yang

Ruby

And Taiyang.

Because of the Grimm Terror Bird.

 

**Ruby**

The young Silver Eyed Girl sits in her cell with her hands crossed along with her legs. She has actually not been touched by Tyrian recently. She remains still and she looks up when she hears her cell being knocked on by a friendly looking individual...sort of...

Emerald Sustrai...

She looks at Ruby with her mint green hair by her shoulders. She looks at the girl and then looks back at the floor. “Ruby?” Emerald whispers and Ruby sighs.

“Go away.” She snarls at the girl.

“I’m not here to gloat, I’m here to let you actually walk outside of this cage.” Emerald says and Ruby looks at her quizzically.

“Why?” Ruby smartly asks.

“Well, Salem is feeling generous and thinks you should be able to walk around a bit.” Emerald says. Ruby stands up and looks at her suspiciously, looking out for Tyrian. But when she listens, she can hear a shout from inside the hall. It is night time here and there are men inside of the hall.

“Liar!” The voice of Fury bellows. She then looks at Emerald and she just shrugs. Emerald opens the door and lets Ruby walk out. She also lets Oscar out of his cell and he goes with them both, they are both quite nervous as well. This is the first time that they have actually been allowed out of their cells the entire time that they have been captured here. Emerald walks with Ruby into the main hall where the huge table is. There are other prisoners in here, terrified as the Knights are in here.

All but one.

Death is not here right now.

But Fury, Fear and Loss are. Fury and Fear are enjoying themselves as they play a game with the prisoners. A game called Liars Dice. The game where each player has a cup and they place some dice inside, and each member of the game must guess how much is on every single die in the current match. If the amount becomes too high, one can call a player a liar. If the player is wrong then the player throws a die in the middle of the table. If the victim of being called a lie actually was right, then the one calling him out must through the die in. Everyone has five dice. One could also say that the amount is spot on, if he is wrong, he throws the die in, if he is right, everyone throws one in the middle.

But it seems the Knights have a different version, no lives essentially. If you lie, then you are immediately punished. From what Fury does, he burns them with his hand, Fear seems to haunt them with nightmares. Then the Prisoners are thrown back in their cells. Loss does not seem interested in playing. Mercury is inside as well and Hazel has his arms crossed and eyes closed. Tyrian is here as well with Watts and Salem has her hands clasped together as she watches the game.

Seems even a queen must have some kind of entertainment to pass the time. Salem looks at Ruby and Emerald and she seems happy to see Ruby there, out of her cell. But she says nothing, letting her walk around with Emerald by her side. “You know the game?” Emerald asks her.

“Yeah, I’ve seen it before.” Ruby agrees as she watches them play the game with other prisoners.

“The Knights challenge the prisoners to the game of Liars Dice, all surrounding their lives in prison. If the Knight wins, they get to hurt the prisoner in some way of their choosing, if the prisoner wins, they are given good grub and no torture.” She explains. A pretty cruel set of terms, but it is better than more torture. Tyrian glares at Ruby, and it is clear that he is thirsty to torture her some more. But Ruby is not the sweet girl that she used to be anymore. She has toughened up because of this place.

Ruby has always been filled with interesting ideas.

The one she has just come up with however is the most insane and reckless one yet. She leans over to Emerald’s ear. “So – any of the Knights can be challenged?” She asks.

“Yeah.” Emerald answers.

Ruby looks at Salem directly as she watches her. And then she speaks.

“I challenge Death.” She says and the whole room falls silent or into gasps. Emerald’s eyes widen in shock when she looks at her. Hazel’s eyes open and he looks at her. Tyrian and Watts rise up when she says it and Salem’s eyes actually wide from some form of fear. The three Knights all look at her with amazement from that bravery to challenge him.

And suddenly...

There is a heavy set of footfalls approaching from the ark hallway. The footfalls would strike fear into anyone’s hearts as he approaches, as if just saying his name was enough to bring him here. Fury and Fear start to laugh with amazement at her defiance against them all. Salem stands up from her chair and she looks at the doors as they open, shadows leaking through the doors as he enters, looking directly at Ruby with those sinister red eyes of his. “I accept.” Death tells her.

The Knights sit her down at the table and Fear slams her cup of dice down before her, lifting it off the dice and showing her die to her at the moment. Death stands there and she stands up to look strong against him. “The stakes?” Death asks her.

“My life – yours to claim whenever you see fit.” Ruby says to him and Oscar’s eyes widen.

“No...” Emerald whispers with fear.

Salem stands there and she also looks afraid, walking towards the exchange. But Death seems intrigued and he chuckles. “Against?” He asks.

“Our Freedom.” He says.

“Whose?” Death asks for clarification.

“Ruby Rose, Oscar Pine and Pyrrha Nikos.” Ruby says bravely as she stares at him. Death looks at her quizzically.

“Pyrrha Nikos is dead.” He says.

“I saw her in your realm, Death.” She says. “If I win, you free all of us, you free her soul from your grasp.” Ruby states. Death glares at her and then he chuckles.

“Accepted.” Death honourably agrees.

“No! That is out of the question.” Salem sharply says, getting Death’s attention, looking over his shoulder to face her. “Miss Rose’ life is not up for wager, we know how important she is to our plan.” Salem argues as she stares at Death. But Death just scoffs and looks back at Ruby.

“The stakes have been set, they cannot be changed.” Death says calmly. Salem then shows a side to herself that none have seen before.

Desperation.

“I am in control here, Death!” She shouts.

Death suddenly turns and draws Ferrum Arctus, pointing the darkness coated blade directly at her face and she freezes up with legitimate fear in her eyes, looking at the blade as he glares at her with those glowing demonic eyes. He then speaks coldly. “Do you feel in control?” He asks her.

Salem stammers and then he lowers the sword, slamming it blade first into the ground before taking a seat. Ruby looks at Salem, how weak she seems there against Death, she was actually scared of him there and she walks back to her seat, sitting down. Ruby then sits down and looks at the Knight of Death. He picks up his cup with the dice inside and he shakes it. Ruby does the same as they begin the game. Death slams it down, Ruby slams it down.

Then a third does.

They both look at the new player.

It’s Mercury.

“What are you doing?” Ruby questions fearfully for his safety.

“I’m in, matching her wager.” Mercury says to Death and the Knight just tilts his menacing helm at him.

“Please do not do this, Merc.” She begs him.

Mercury looks at her. “Always have liked a good game of chance.” Mercury says with a smile.

“I bid two fours.” Mercury begins, looking at Death who still stares at him. “Your turn, Death.” Mercury points out with a smirk on his face. Death can be heard chuckling menacingly behind that mask he wears.

“Five Five’s...” Death wagers as he stares at Ruby now. Ruby feels the pressure building in her heart now, Oscar and Emerald, hell everyone is watching the game of chance playing right now. Their lives on the line against the Knight of Death. Ruby feels her hand quivering and then she thinks of something. She looks right at Death.

“Six Fives.” She wagers.

“Six ones.” Mercury wagers soon after. Death remains still and he has not even looked at his own dice yet. The player is allowed to do this to make a better decision, but the number is for _all_ of the dice. And the number has to keep on going up, the quantity cannot drop. Death then looks at Ruby.

“Seven Sixes.” He slowly says, pronouncing every letter slowly with a laugh. She could call him a liar, but when she looks at the numbers she has right now, she cannot take the risk. She has five sixes under her cup. The odds are too great. For all she knows...they could have fifteen sixes overall. She stammers as she thinks and Fear smirks at her, laughing menacingly as he stands there with Formido Falcem in his hand. Mercury looks under his and he has three sixes, Death still has not looked at his yet.

Ruby then thinks of a wager and looks directly at Death. Oscar watches and he can hear Ozpin speaking to him. “We need to stop this Oscar, she is our only hope.” Ozpin whispers, but it seems that Ozpin has forgotten that Fear is there, and Fear can hear Ozpin in Oscar’s mind. Fear looks straight at Oscar and he heard every word that he just said. The golden eyes fixed on his hazel coloured ones terrifies the boy and he looks down, whispering to himself.

“Shut up...” He whispers. “Fear can hear you.”

Ruby sets the cup back down. She has made her wager, and now Mercury’s life is on the line as well. “Eight Sixes.” She nervously says to him, staring at Death with her one silver eye. Death starts to laugh amongst the murmuring.

“I hope you will enjoy the Shivering Dominion, Miss Rose.” Death chuckles hauntingly as he stares at her. Until Mercury makes another bet.

“Fifteen Sixes.” He says and Ruby’s eyes widen in terror from how fast he said it, beating Death from calling her a liar. Because he was going to, and he has just made a bet that could have cost him his life. Mercury stares at him with a smirk. “Call me a liar, I dare you.” Mercury challenges and Emerald looks at him with horror in her eyes.

He has just killed himself.

Death stares at him. “As you wish, Mr Black.” He says, picking his own cup up and showing his own dice underneath it. Death had two sixes, and three fives. Ruby’s heart sinks and Mercury shuts his eyes with acceptance. It is mathematically impossible for there to be fifteen sixes.

He has just signed his own death warrant...to save Ruby’s life. Death glares at him. “How honourable of you Mercury to give your own life for Miss Rose.” Death says ominously. Mercury waits for Death to kill him, but he doesn’t. “But the wager was clear, I choose when I can kill you. I will do it when you least expect me to.” He says. He stands up and looks at her. But Mercury glares at him.

“Now let them go free.” Mercury demands.

Death stops and stares at him. “I feel I am not obliged to that yet.” He says and Ruby looks at Death in disbelief.

“What? That was the wager!” She argues as she stands up. Death quickly turns and stares down at her.

“Aye, it was little Rose, but it was you that failed to clarify when, where and how to release you. So I feel it is up to me to decide upon the due time of your freedoms.” He says evilly as he walks away from her. Mercury stands there and Emerald looks at him with horror. Death stops and looks at Ruby.

“So then, Ruby Rose, Oscar Pine – feel free to go free, in eight five years time!” Death laughs maniacally as he sets the date of which when he will free the two of them. Her eyes widen in horror. Death stands with the other three Knights, Fear, Death and Fury all erupt into laugher but Loss stays quiet, following them as they walk away from the table. Ruby stands there, feeling ashamed of herself.

Mercury closes his eyes.

He has just sacrificed his own life, and for nothing. Ruby looks at him. “Mercury – why did you do that?” Ruby asks him with tearful eyes.

Mercury looks at her. “It’s what friends do right?” He asks her. “We look out for each other.” He says, and the way he says it makes her heart hurt.

Death walks towards Salem and stops by her ear, looking at her. “I wonder how long you will continue this folly you call leadership.” Death snarls into her ear, walking onwards, leaving her with her throne and her mess to clean up.

Salem shudders with fear as the Four Knights leave her there.

She is actually scared of them.

She is no longer in control.

Death is.

Ruby has just learned a valuable lesson tonight.

_If one challenges Death..._

_...one must be very clear on the stakes._


	20. President Thaddeus Brimstone

**Willow**

She stands at the garden outside of the Schnee manor with her hands clutching to a glass of wine. And for the first time in a very long time, the once beautiful taste of red wine has ceased to be delightful to her. The taste has turned to ash, and she throws the red wine into one of the bushes, rolling her large blue eyes, and she storms away from the bush that has been sculpted into the shape of a Beowulf. Her stomps echo through the gardens of the Manor, past the bushes and she pushes past one of the Atlesian Civilians, the same one in fact who was mouthing off about Vale, stating that they _deserved_ what happened at Beacon. Weiss really showed her what happens when one speaks ill of her home like that, because people died. Willow approaches the doors and she pushes them open, like her white dress glistens like the frost on the wintry cobblestone floor that she traversed across. Her small crown around her head seems to glow as the bright sun reflects off it, her breath visible in the icy cold clouds of vapour leaving her lips.

She looks down the hallway and she starts to make her way down towards something. The cell of Ironwood is ahead of her, he is still trapped inside there. He has not been out of there in a couple days now. Everything is so peaceful here at Atlas, so quiet...it is extremely unnerving how the world seems to care little about the place at the moment. It is extremely bizarre how they are not more worried, with the Knights of Grimm gliding through the skies, claiming the lives of whomever their predatory eyes feast on. She sees the two Atlesian Guards stood by his cell and she crosses her arms, very much like her daughters in her expressive nature, and the same sorts of looks that she gives people, of complete and utter disgust most of the time. Just like any Schnee would. “You can leave your posts; I wish to speak to the prisoner alone.” Willow demands.

The soldiers stand their grounds, holding the rifles in their hands. “Our apologies, ma’am, but the prisoner is not allowed to be spoken to without the authority of Mr Jacques Schnee.” The Soldier speaks to her, remaining in their posts.

“I’m his wife.” She says to them, hoping that it could clear anything up, tilting her head at them as she stands there. The soldiers look at her.

“But –”

“What do you think I’m going to do? Open the door without any keys? Let a criminal rampage through my home?” She scoffs, and the Guards look surprised. Either by how she is completely correct in her statements, or that she is sober and not in the garden. It is one of the two possibilities, and they don’t seem to bother questioning her logic.

“Yes ma’am.” The guards both say, nodding and walking away. She watches them as they leave, and she waits until they have fully turned the corner and left the two of them, divided by a thick metal door that even Ironwood can’t break out of. She sighs with relief when the soldiers leave.

“Criminal?” Ironwood scoffs from inside the cell, and Willow looks at the door and she walks towards it, pressing her hand against it.

“You know I didn’t mean that, just a show to get the guards to go away.” She says gently, and affectionately. Ironwood is sat against the door, his metal arm against his knee; he shuts his eyes and sighs as he sits there.

“Was I really that blind?” Ironwood asks her with amazement in his voice, and his question makes her look at the door, trying to see him in the darkness through the grates in the metal door.

“Blind to what?” She inquires curiously.

“I let that goddamn bastard take over my entire army, feed his own forces inside, and I never noticed – I thought I could trust him.” Ironwood sighs. The cold silence in the atmosphere of Atlas makes it feel as if they should be quieter about the things that they are talking about. As if someone could be listening to their every word, the very thin ice that the Remnant Society stands upon is cracking and cracking every day. The Knights will not aid the living for much longer; their quest for planetary extinction will go forward. And it seems that Willow has finally realised this, and has quit her alcohol problems to try and help stop what is coming. Starting with her own power hungry husband.

She looks down at where he sits, her hand caressing the metal. “You couldn’t have known, James – none of us did.” She says to him to try and comfort him with her gentle voice.

“I should have known, though! It’s my job as a general of Atlas to protect us from people like him, and now I have just let him take my entire army!” He grunts with anger, his fist tightening. He slams his metal fist down into the ground with force with anger, sending cracks dancing across the floor, dust puffing up from the floor.  Willow jumps from the loud crack but she stands her ground. She slows her heart down and then she brings her soft voice back to try and calm him down again.

“James...” She whispers, to calm him and he seems to go quiet. “...you can’t do everything yourself.” She says to him. James sighs and he closes his eyes to listen to her voice but all he feels is guilt.

“I will not bring you into this, Willow, this is my punishment.” He says. “I bet you regret ever spending that night of ours together, don’t you?” He chuckles when looking at the circumstance that they are both trapped in. She holds the metal with her hands and she looks down at where he is with astonishment in her face.

“No – I cherish the night we had, I’d never trade it for anything.” Willow says to him and he looks up at the door where she is right now. “You treated me the way he used to, better than he used to...” She adds. “You made me feel loved, not just a tool to get higher up in the hierarchy, to become more powerful.” She explains. “When you held me, kissed me...it was real.”

He sits there, and the real reason why he dares not show himself to her is because he is afraid, he loves her and he does not want to show that love in case of losing her in the process. She grits her teeth and she starts to get angry at speaking to the shadows. “Damn it, James, look at me!” She shouts, begging him as she shakes the door. James is the one jumping now and he presses his hand to the floor and he stands back up and looks at her through the only source of light in this dungeon of a cell. He presses his hands against the door and he looks at the beautiful woman, she is much younger than Jacques is, perhaps nearly ten years younger than he is. But as she said, he never married her for love.

He married her for power.

He married her to win.

James sighs as he looks down at the floor before looking into her sapphire eyes once more. She has been longing for him, because she loves him, and it is very clear that she feels the same way. “Here I am.” James says to her with the shrug of his shoulders, and it pains her to see how tired he looks. Bags formed under his eyes, it is like he has not slept in weeks, even though he has only been in there for a couple days at this point. She touches his hand with hers, looking straight into his eyes. It is unknown if Jacques knows that Willow has been sleeping with Jacques behind his back, but that would still not be his reasoning behind why he has him locked up in here like some crazed criminal.

“I will get you out of here, James, I promise.” She says to him.

“Your servant – Klein – he said that he has been trying to get a message out to Winter about what is happening right now. Has she responded?” James asks her.

“He hasn’t said anything.” She nervously says, her voice trembling at the thought of what could happen to her precious daughters. James can see her discomfort. “Gods...I have been a terrible mother to my children, spent most of my time around them drinking my life away instead of raising them as I should – instead I let that monster of a father corrupt my son.” She snarls in anger as she thinks of what Whitley is becoming, someone who is extremely bloodthirsty and would stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

Like father like son.

She then looks at her true love behind the cell door. “I will get you out.” She promises.

“How?” He asks her curiously.

“I have a meeting with the President, and the rest of the Council. I am going to say that I am holding your seat for now. And I am going to try and get on Brimstone’s side. Get him to see the truth about Jacques, once he understands, he will free you and put Jacques in the cell instead as punishment.” Willow explains to him, certain that her plan will work perfectly. He holds her hand gently, rubbing his thumb across the skin on her hand. She then leans against the door and she and him manage to kiss each other affectionately, holding it for as long as they can. “I love you.” She says to him affectionately, smiling. Ironwood smiles as she steps away.

“I’ll be here.” He says with a smirk on his face.

But when she turns, she freezes in place, her blood turning cold when she sees the individual staring at her.

_What is she doing here?_

The Onyx Phantom stands right behind her, the hood pulled over to cast the shadow that conceals her true identity. The orange eyes glaring right into the eyes of the Schnee Woman. She holds her ground and looks right at the skilled assassin, she knows who she is. She has been well-informed about the situation that the Schnee Family name is currently in. And the name is on rocky ground of falling into the predicament of becoming the name of the enemy. One that could destroy everything. The Onyx Phantom remains a mute as always, and she remains still. “Who are you?” Willow questions.

“Oh, it does not matter who she is, my dear.” A familiar voice speaks. She turns to the hallway to see a man in tactical attire and a metal arm, a rifle slung over his shoulder and a glass of wine in his hand. He has his blonde hair slicked backwards so it is not in his eyes and he has a couple of scars on his face. He also has more implants than when they last saw him. He has a very sinister presence, and little does she know that this man is the same one that attacked her oldest child and her companions.

The Mercenary Captain that survived Jaune’s attack, given a Cybernetic Implant. His name was Ridley. “And who might you be?” She asks him.

“Oh, I don’t keep the same name for more than a week.” He chuckles. “Today my name is Scarlet David.” He says with a bow. He is using the names of those who have been killed, either by him or by his allies to conceal who he truly is. It seems that now there are two unknowns in the area, the Onyx Phantom and the Captain. She notices a nametag on his armour and it just says _Spectre._ Until his name is unveiled, that would be an acceptable title for this man. “I know who you are, very well.” He says, holding her hand and kissing it, winking at her as well. She takes her hand from him and crosses her arms once more, not breaking eye contact.

“What do you want from me?” She questions.

“Oh – it’s not you I want.” He says. “I simply would like to ask if you know anything on the whereabouts of your daughters...we are in a dire hurry to help them out.” He lies, and she knows exactly what they want to do to them and their friends. But she maintains her appearances.

“I wish I did, but ever since the Fall of Mistral, we have been unable to find their whereabouts, I’m afraid.” She says to the two assassins. The Spectre nods his head up and down, chuckling as he takes a cupcake from a tray that Klein is carrying out. He is making it clear that he must have some kind of information to give to Willow, but he has just seen the two individuals speaking to her. He stabs into one of them with a weapon, that weapon being his arm. The metal plates shift and the hand folds away into the forearm, the other end emerges and it is a huge razor sharp, hook. He lifts the cupcake to his mouth and eats it on his hook-hand that is built into him.

She stares at the arm and he spots her look. “Oh, d’ya like it?” He questions with a smirk as he lifts the hook up a little bit. “So do I, top notch engineering by Merlot Industries. Can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us.” He says as he laughs, eating more of the cupcake. He lowers the hook and looks at her and he looks up and down her trim, attractive body in the dress. The dress is silver and covers her front and some of her spine and completely covering her lower half, but her sides are fully showing. Her hair is done up in the same way as Weiss’ is done. He is completely checking her out like a sly dog and he nods at her, like he likes her. “Damn, sweetheart, you’ve aged pretty well for yourself haven’t ya?” He laughs, and then he looks at the painting on the wall. “That painting doesn’t do you any justice.” He says as he looks back at her. He then walks closer to her and whispers into her ear. “Wanna fool around later?” He whispers with a smirk.

She pushes him away and he laughs. “I’m married, asshole.” She snarls, despite cheating on her husband with James Ironwood, it seems she is doing this to get freaks like him away from her. He looks at her, and there is a quirky expression on his face.

“That’s hypocritical coming from you, darling.” He points out, truthfully. She glares at him and he chuckles as he walks back towards her. “Don’t worry, honey, I won’t spill – although, we could really have some clues of how to find them, our boss’ll be mighty hacked off otherwise.” He says with a whisper. “Hate for your secret to be public knowledge, wouldn’t you? Sleeping around with the General of the Atlesian Fleet behind your husband’s back?” He speaks, using the guilt to manipulate her into working with him. He then pats her head disrespectfully. “Think about it, until then, see you around sexy.” He says as he walks away, swinging his scythe shaped hook to the side, throwing the cupcake onto the floor and leaving it there. He continues to walk on, and her eyes turn to the Onyx Phantom. The Phantom rolls her eyes and then follow after him, not from loyalty, just because it is her job to do so.

It seems that now Weiss and Winter, well all of them, have a pair of Assassins hunting them now.

Willow clenches her hand into a fist from anger due to the disrespect he placed upon her. He looks back at her with a smirk, vanishing with her as a crowd walk in front of him and as they pass, they are gone.

Just like a Phantom.

And just like a Spectre.

She exhales when she is finally free from the company of the ghosts and she continues on her path to meet with the Council.

But before she goes any further, she sees Klein waiting for her, still adopting that disguise of his to not seem suspicious. He lowers the empty tray and holds it by his side. “Are you alright, Miss Schnee?” He asks her with concern.

“Oh, just some asshole, nothing to worry about Klein.” She says to him, easing his concerns. “Did she respond?” Willow asks. Klein reaches into his jacket pocket and he gives her his scroll which has a response on it.

_Weiss recovered from Death_

_Knight attacks are getting worse_

_Might have found a possible trail into stopping them_

_Ruby Rose captured_

_One of the Knights is an ancient Schnee_

_Bad things are coming,_

_Stay safe,_

_Winter Schnee_

**Winter**

The oldest of the Schnee offspring lowers her scroll after sending the message a few minutes earlier to Klein, unknowingly realising that he is the Maestro. Weiss is asleep on a bed offered to her by one of the Tribesmen who lives there. She is snuggled into the pillow, recovering from the nightmares that Fear put in her head. Of her father attacking her when she was only little as punishment for something she did not understand, or even do to begin with. She shudders every now and then, muttering to herself as she sees her nightmares. Everyone who experienced the power of the two Knights have been having issues with sleeping, either from nightmares or waking up in tears because of Loss’ ideas she planted in them. Winter looks out the window and Jaune is stood outside with Crocea Mors gripped in both hands as he trains to Pyrrha’s video which is on loop. “Shield up, keep you grip tight, don’t forget to keep your front foot forward.” It continues to play and play and play in the background as he trains there.

Sun has been watching over Blake, holding her close so then she has a shoulder to cry on when she breaks down from seeing her parents in her sleep again. Loss may seem like she cares, but she is still extremely cold. There is more to her than simply meets the eye, there is true compassion, like she does not really want to do these things but she feels like she has no choice. And that is a point that Winter cannot get out of her head for some reason, the fact that Loss is a Schnee. Those were definitely Schnee Glyphs, and she said that her name was Starla Schnee. She thinks to herself as she stands beside her sleeping sister about what she learned, and she knows that Weiss should learn the truth sooner or later.

Winter crouches down beside her sleeping sister, proceeding to touch her arm and gently moving her to wake her back up. “Hey.” She whispers. “Wake up, you boob.” She whispers again, and then her large blue eyes open up and she looks at her sister.

“Winter? What’s wrong?” She asks her bigger sister.

“I need to tell you something, it’s important.” Winter says to her, and Weiss looks at her older sister quizzically.

“Are you pregnant?” She asks abruptly and Winter double takes at Weiss in complete bewilderment from how she managed to come to that scenario.

“Wait what?” She questions.

“Is it Qrow’s?” She asks, pushing further into this bizarre idea she has in her head.

“What – no!” She dismisses. “How did you even get to _that_ conclusion?” Winter questions her sister.

“I know you, Winter – you like a badass and I’ve also seen the way you look at him.” She says to her older sister.

“God no, anyway I need to talk to you about something. You have a right to know.” She says as she grabs her sister’s arm and rips her out of bed. Weiss yelps as she is pulled up to her feet and dragged away, into the courtyard. Jaune is training in the other courtyard on the other side of the building, so then they don’t disturb him. They both walk outside into the cold world, the sun set and the fractured moon in the sky.

“Gods...it’s freezing out here.” She whimpers as she holds her sleeveless arms.

“Weiss – It’s important.” She says to her.

Weiss now is paying full attention to her. “What is it?” Weiss asks.

“We got into a tangle with the Knight of Loss, Raven and I...when we were fighting, she did something that took me by shock.” She explains.

“What did she do?” Weiss asks curiously, tilting her head.

“She manifested a Glyph, exactly like ours.” She explains. “She is a Schnee, Weiss – one of the Knights is a Schnee.” She says to her, and Weiss’ eyes widen in disbelief, taking a couple steps back. Firstly she has just learned that her family name travels all the way back to the Arkhoni Period and secondly one is a Knight. Weiss stammers as she tries to comprehend what she has just been told, walking around the grassy area that they stand by. She then stops and looks at her sister.

“She’s a Schnee?” She questions.

“I know, it shocked me as well.” Winter agrees. “And she told me her name – and she is someone I haven’t heard of. And I went through the family records a few years ago because I was bored and I never saw her name.” Winter explains.

“Wait, what was her name?” Weiss quickly asks.

“She said her name was Starla Schnee.” She answers, and Weiss tries to think back on the records to see if she recognises the name. But just like her older sister, she does not remember hearing that name anywhere. It is like her name was taken and swiped from all records, as if she never existed.

“I don’t know that name.” Weiss says to her, walking around the area and sitting down on a bench. Weiss sighs. “As if the Schnee name couldn’t get any worse.” She scoffs.

“Well – I don’t think it was Starla’s choice, she is Loss after all.” Winter says, supporting the side of a Knight, surprisingly.

“I know, but with everything that has been happening, the name does sound like the enemy right now.” She sighs to the floor. Winter walks over to her and sits down beside her, she can read her sister very well and she looks at her. Weiss is still holding Myrtenaster, holds it in her sleep all the time, in case. Ever since Death stabbed her with Ferrum Arctus, it must have made her realise that she isn’t invincible.

“What’s wrong?” She asks Weiss.

“Fear...” She answers and Winter nods as she starts to understand.

“What did you see?” Winter inquires.

“It was a memory, when he attacked me for no reason, hit mom as well. You weren’t there; it was the first time I realised what kind of a man he truly is.” She explains, fiddling with the hilt of her sword. Winter puts her arm around her sister and lets her head fall against her shoulder.

“Hey, we’ll get through this, I promise.” Winter assures, looking after her little sister. She might not have always been there for her.

But she has always put her first.

Above everything in her life.

Even her career. She pats her little head and she stands up, heading back to her bed to sleep again, or at least try to. They don’t really know how long the after effects of Fear’s Toxin lasts for, but it is unlikely to last a couple of days.

But when she is alone, she starts to look at her physique, trying to figure out why she thought she was going to say that she was pregnant. Even if the whole crush thing was true, why would she jump straight to that? She is still thin and toned as ever and there is no bulging stomach that cold resemble pregnancy. “Pregnant? With Qrow? I don’t – feel that way.” She stammers, and yet her nervousness shows the truth, showing a side to her than none have seen before. But when she stands there, she looks over her shoulder and her eyes widen when she sees Qrow stood there, leant against the wall with his flask of alcohol in his hand.

A smirk so big it nearly reaches off his face. She glares right at him and he is about to speak and she immediately points her finger at him. “Utter one word and I will slap you into next week.” She threatens with stern eyes, stopping Qrow in his tracks.

And yet Qrow...he just can’t help himself.

“Pregnant, huh?” Qrow asks with a chuckle. Winter pushes her tongue into her bottom lip, turning her head and then swinging her open palm into the side of his head with force.

“Ow!”

 

**Willow**

The mother of the Schnees walks towards a huge structure in the Atlesian City, a place outside of the Schnee Manor. There are multiple extremely expensive cars parked outside of it and she has made the journey on foot with her handbag in grip. The building is very large and she walks up it, towards the door. Engraved on the ebony door is the Atlas Emblem, the staff amongst multiple circles, black and white shades making it up. She pushes the doors open and there are maids and other servants walking around, offering things to the many guests at the building. She walks past the many servants, politely dismissing them as she enters the large room with a huge table where everyone is sat.

She enters and her eyes meet her husband’s, who stands tall and his eyes glare right at her. He clearly did not expect to see her here; usually she stays in the garden. “Willow, my dear...” He speaks with confusion as he looks at her. Willow respectfully courtesies to her husband before taking a seat. And then the main door opens as the President emerges.

President Thaddeus Brimstone.

He is a tall and proud looking man with a shaven head and white beard. He has wrinkles coating his face and fierce hazel eyes, stepping before them all. He wears a black and red suit, but not in relevance to the Acolytes of Lien, simply because he is not like the others. It suits his last name – Brimstone. He is a very powerful looking man and he sits down in a chair, and everyone else takes their seats afterwards, clasping their hands together. Individuals from across the world of Remnant and many are missing due to the attacks. Like Professor Leonard Lionheart. And Professor Ozpin.

President Thaddeus Brimstone finally speaks with a very strong and commanding tone of voice. “Good evening everyone, good to see most have managed to make it here today, considering all the issues happening at the moment.” He introduces to them all. He looks at Willow curiously.

“Good evening, Mr President.” She greets with a gentle bow.

“Good evening to you, Miss Schnee, I must ask why you are in General Ironwood’s seat however.” Brimstone says to her reverentially.

“Well with him being tried at the moment for his _crimes_ I have been asked to take his place for now.” Willow answers to him, and two members here at the table do not seem to be as convinced as the President. Jacques Schnee and Darren Ortega, both sat on either end. And Ortega is the first to interject.

“Pardon the interruption, sir, but Miss Schnee has no place here in the presence of such sensitive military matters.” Ortega objects as he glares at her, and Willow stares back. She is not blind; she knows that these two are up to something, something that would prove lethal to the people at this table. Ortega looks at her, but then the President speaks in return to him.

“If she has been entrusted with keeping the information shared at this table secret, then she can stay.” The President says to him and Ortega looks right at him and sits back down in his seat. The President begins to speak to them all. “Now, we all know why we have all been called in. It is the same reason why Professor Ozpin and Professor Lionheart are not sat here at this table today. The Grimm are getting worse, and we know of the Knights of Grimm, their return is a big threat to our very existence, every land they glide across when the moon floats in our skies, it is most likely to claim the souls of the good people.” Brimstone explains.

“Entire villages have been wiped out days apart from one another, it is physically impossible for there to be any way of the Four Knights doing these attacks themselves. There must be a second hand in this.” One of the Politicians speaks up.

“You see that is where you are wrong.” Jacques says, and Willow glares at him when he starts to speak to them, clasping his hands together. “I have a very reliable source, and he has been relaying information to me about the Knights and their movements.” He explains.

“What have you been told?” Thaddeus asks him.

“That these – beings – are not bound by what we call natural, they are spirits. Like the Wild Hunt or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, they are terrors far beyond our world and they will not stop. They can appear in many places at once and destroy them just as quickly.” He explains to them, terrifying many people at this table that they are all around. And he is also telling the truth, perhaps to place doubt in their minds.

“Who is this source?” Willow asks him, challenging him. He looks at her with stern eyes.

“That is classified information, if I told people who he was then there would be no point in him being a secret. Only I can know of his true identity.” Jacques explains, and he makes it sound like there is one individual. But there are many sources of information, Salem’s band of monstrous individuals that serve her. But out of everyone, he has yet to meet any of the Knights. But one man at this table has seen one in person.

Ortega.

He saw and spoke to death aboard his ship not very long ago. “Well, if the information is reliable, then this makes things more difficult. If these beings are as you describe, then we have a bigger threat to face. We will need to focus our funds of scientific development to combat this enemy.” Brimstone explains as he sits there.

“Well, that is where I bring good news.” He chimes in again. “You see, General Ortega and I have taken interest against these Knights and we have a third member of our alliance who is working on the scientific development of weaponry itself. I only have so many funds, and the scientist is extremely skilled, he has already managed to give normal soldiers abilities that can make them lethal enemies against the Grimm.” He explains.

“Who is this third party?” Brimstone asks.

“His name is Doctor Merlot.” He says.

“The Mad Scientist from Mountain Glenn in Vacuo?” One of the Politicians question.

“Aye he is mad, but he has heart and he knows what is at stake. His advancements have helped the Acolytes of Lien become a lethal enemy against the Grimm, saving entire settlements from them and protecting them at all costs.” Jacques explains. Willow seems to be the only person in the room who is not buying anything that he is saying, and Jacques knows that. But she knows she cannot do anything until she can come with proof if she wants to have him put in a cell for the rest of his days.

Brimstone leans into his chair. “I do not usually appreciate the work of mercenaries, but if what you say is true, then perhaps I might have to agree.” He sighs as he looks at the Mercenary Shipmaster. The Shipmaster nods with a respectful smile.

The conversation seems to drown out as Willow stares at Jacques and he stares at her, both sides of the coin hating each other right now.

 

The debate continues and as they all leave afterwards, Jacques grabs her arm and pulls her behind a wall and stares at her as he pins her there. “What do you think you are doing?” Jacques snarls and she rips her arm from his grip, staring up at him.

“You will not get away with this, Jacques.” She simply says as she walks away and leaves him behind. “You’re obsessed with winning – I am going to make sure that you _lose_.”


	21. Fear's Aftermath

**Qrow**

The Uncle, the father...he is a man who is filled with many lies. But they are lies that he keeps from people to keep them safe, even if they hate him for it. Much like Taiyang, the man that despises him for the pressure that was put upon his shoulders, having to raise a second child that was not even his own, because of his curse. Perhaps Taiyang hates the semblance that he has instead of the man who is victimised by it; perhaps he did love Summer, who knows?

Qrow’s reasons however for keeping these things secret were never confused, they were never selfish, and he did it to protect the people he loves. He walks away from where he got slapped by Winter, an ice pack pressed to his cheek, and he is looking for Yang. He needs to talk to her.

They have to fix the broken glass in their family. Qrow walks down the hall and he turns a corner, seeing Yang resting her head on Kassius’ shoulder. She has her hand clutched in his as they talk to each other. He is still sat near the hospital in case the doctors need to talk to him, but he seems alright. Yang looks at him, and there is some hostility in the look she gives him. He is about to go but Kassius whispers into her ear. “Talk to him.” He whispers to her. She looks at him with a confused expression, her lilac eyes surprised.

“Huh?” She responds.

Kassius moves his fingers through the soft golden locks of golden blonde hair, making her feel comfortable, love bouncing around in her breast. She rubs her head against his hand, holding onto him as he makes her feel loved, her eyes closing. “You need to talk to him, let him tell you everything.” Kassius advises gently. She kisses him on the lips, the wanting to do so overcoming her, his arm wrapping around her back as she holds him. They break the kiss, their foreheads touching. “Go, he needs to explain.” He says to her. She exhales and she nods, getting off his lap and walking away from him. Qrow looks at Kassius, and he just nods to the Uncle. Qrow nods back and he sees his niece walking over to him, still looking pretty stern right now. As she should be.

“You have some explaining to do.” She coldly says to him.

“I know – I know.” He sighs as he leans against the wall, crossing his arms. She stands there and she mimics his position, glaring at him. “I despise my semblance with a passion, you know that.” He says to her, and she looks down at the floor. “Because it is the reason that Summer is gone, it’s why our team fell apart. When Raven left Team S.T.R.Q, her semblance’s balancing ability it had on my bad luck was gone, and it generated all this hatred through the group.” Qrow explains, and Yang’s eyes widen.

“Mom’s semblance is...Good Luck?” She asks.

“Yeah, I guess you could call us Ying and Yang.” He says with a chuckle. “And think about it, you have had incredibly good luck in your life when I wasn’t around. Only when I did...did you lose your arm. She saved you from Neo when she attacked you on the train in Vale, none could beat you in combat.” He explains, listing them. Raven’s _Good Luck Charm_ seems to have been passed on genetically to her daughter, just not in the same form. Perhaps the combination of whatever Taiyang’s Semblance is, created her semblance that she has today. She shares her mother’s red eyes when she is angry and also has the caring nature of her father.

“That makes a lot of sense, now.” She says with amazement.

“Summer and I had been wanting a baby for a long time, when Raven pregnant we had been thinking about it. But Raven left...when she was pregnant, and I knew that without her around to balance my Bad Luck, it could hurt Ruby when Summer carried her. So I did something I never wanted to do...I ran...I tried to run.” Qrow explains. “Because all I bring when my sister isn’t around is pain, suffering – everyone I love gets hurt or dies because of this stupid curse of mine.” He clarifies to her and Yang’s sternness begins to fade when her eyes notice the tears appearing in Qrow’s eyes. Yang has gone from wanting to punch him to wanting to hug him, simply because of her caring nature that she cannot hide away from the people she loves. Even when she is mad at them, just like she did with Blake when she hugged her after pushing her away.

She has anger in her, but she cannot bear hurting someone she loves.

At least she can control her rage...

“I ask Tai if he could look after her for me, her and the baby, so then they could survive, whilst I stayed away, I could drop by every now and then. He was mad at first, but I think he understood after a while, because the few days I did show up, bad things tended to happen.” Qrow explains to her, remembering the times whenever he would stop by the house at Patch, the plates would break, or a mirror would break, or simply a Beowulf would turn up and attack. That happened once, got very close to the girls one time, and he was forced to attack it.

“But – why did you never tell Ruby you are her father?” Yang questions, for that is the main thing on her mind. Qrow’s eyes close and he sighs, looking down at the floor.

“It was her dying wish.” Qrow reveals, and her eyes widen again with shock, and sadness for her Uncle.

“What do you mean?” She asks him.

Qrow looks at his niece gravely, and then he explains. “One time I dropped by, Summer and I decided we would spend some time together, it had been a couple years since I last saw her, we thought we would take up a mission on one of the boards, saying there was a Grimm of unknown form nearby the town that needed dealing with. We didn’t want to disturb you, so we went off on our own, reconnected again, and she told me she still loved me, and was still loyal to me. She and Tai had been creating the idea that they were her parents to conceal the truth, so then Ruby had a father to look out for her.” He sighs, sounding ashamed of himself, or his curse for not being there for his daughter.

He continues his tale to her, and she listens to every word. “We went after the Grimm together after spending some time together at one of the taverns, didn’t think that it would be our last night together.” He states, his voice cracking as he remembers that fateful eve. “We went out at first light, we heard it attacked at night so we thought we’d get the jump on it – but we were so wrong. My curse must have been the thing to wake him because he found us and attacked, whenever she was out of the way I could handle the Grimm, but just like Ruby...she didn’t want to see me get hurt.” He explains. “The Grimm took his sword and plunged it into her stomach because she tried to help me, his red eyes...I only realised recently...it was Death that did it.” Qrow reveals to her, and her eyes widen from shock. They have been connected to the Knights of Grimm longer than she ever expected, and from a form of connection stronger than Fate...revenge was the thing that connected the family. “I managed to destroy his form, I think it was something to do with the light, I think it is his weakness, because he could not regenerate from his wounds.” He explains. “But...her last words to me were... _Promise me, that you will be her father without her ever knowing it, promise me._ ” He tells Yang, and a gust of sadness rushes across Yang’s body when realising this truth.

He has been keeping his promise ever since. “After all this time?” Yang stammers and Qrow looks straight at her, tears still in his eyes.

“Always.” Qrow says to her, breathing deep to prevent himself from crying in front of her. And it is hard, especially when Yang hugs him and he stands there with the young blonde’s arms around him. He then slowly holds her as well, holding her tight.

Kassius sits there, looking at how Yang is reconnecting with her Uncle. A smile grows on his face and he looks over at Ren talking with Nora in her bed right now. He is glad that the Knights have not broken them.

They just have to find Ruby...

...and fast.

 

**Neptune**

Neptune is sat down at the table with his hand clutching across a glass with water inside. He looks at it and he puts it down, unable to look at it, hearing the roar of it from when the Dam blew all those years ago. He shudders at the sound of it, hearing his parents scream as they fell from the bridge and were pulled into the current, being taken away and forgotten, forever. He turns when he sees Weiss walking over to him, a look of concerned kindness on her smiling face. She does not usually show much kindness to people, but towards him she has always been comfortable to be honest with him. She sits down beside him and looks at him. “Nep...are you okay?” Weiss asks him quietly touching his hand. He sits there, shaking as he remembers the sound of the dam exploding, like one gigantic boom going off, chunks of concrete being pulled in an avalanche of water that smashed straight into his hometown at Mistral.

He takes his hand from Weiss’ and he stands up, walking away from the table and looking out the window again, to look in the direction where it happened...he can still see the damn. Overgrown and the town is gone, forgotten...but he knows exactly where it is. He can see every part of his town from this mountain that Raven’s Tribe are hidden inside of. He looks at his trident leant against the wall next to him. He closes his eyes and he remains there. Until he feels the warmth of Weiss’ hand on his, squeezing tight and he looks down at her as she walks in front of him, looking up at him, holding both of his hands. “You can talk to me, Neptune.” She gently says, the most placid she has ever sounded in front of somebody. He lowers his head and sighs.

“What Fear showed me back there...it was a bad...moment of my life. When I was little, only Team S.S.S.N knows this story.” Neptune tells her, and she just listens to him. Her large ice blue eyes looking up at him lovingly. “That town over there?” He says, pointing at the overgrown place with his finger, Weiss’ eyes follow his finger and she sees the place in the distance, the amount of trees that have flourished all over the place where it fell. “That was once my home.” He tells her, and she gasps, looking at him with disbelief in her eyes, looking right into his sapphire blue eyes. “There’s a reason why I’m terrified of water...everyone thought it was funny, that it was stupid that I was scared of water because my name is Neptune.” He says sombrely.

“What happened?” Weiss asks him. He looks at her with sad eyes.

“I lost my parents that day.” He answers and she gasps with shock, her hands covering her mouth. “The Dam blew, some people destroyed it and sent tonnes of water into the town wiped the whole place out...I was a bridge with my mom and dad, too scared to move that tried to get to me. When they took one step, the ground collapsed and they both fell with the car into the water...I was up there screaming for them for about an hour. They never did...” Neptune explains to her.

Weiss looks at him, feeling so sorry for his loss, he sighs and then he looks at her. “So there you go, that is why I’m scared of water...because of that.” He admits, looking at the glass of water on the table behind him. “Because that stuff took everything from me.” He even struggles to drink the very substance that killed his parents. But when he looks at Weiss again, he is immediately met by the soft contact of her lips upon his, her arms wrapping around his neck and she holds this moment for a while. It catches him so off guard he nearly falls over, but then he wraps his arms around her and lifts the small girl off the floor so they are eye level, kissing each other again. She strokes his cheek delicately with her hand and they end the kiss, her eyes slowly opening to look at him.

“It didn’t take everything...I’ll always be here for you, Nep.” She promises with a smile, and they kiss again, holding this moment forever.

He’ll always have his little Ice Queen.

 

**Sun**

Sun stands in front of a punching bag with gritted teeth, aggressively punching the bag with his gauntleted fists over and over, grunting every time his fist makes contact with the bag. It is just a bag, but he sees the face of Hazel Rainart, the man that murdered his parents in front of him. He yells in anger, punching it over and over and over. The loud bangs from every single impact resounding through the gym that he is working out inside of. He starts yelling with rage now, punching it over and over, seeing flashes of Scarlet and Sage before his eyes when they were killed by their enemies. He winds his fist back when seeing what he imagined Ruby looking like now with an eye missing and he screams in anger, punching the back clean off the chain, launching it down the area with a heavy thud, sliding across the floor with dust trailing behind it. He pants heavily, sweat trickling down his skin as he stands there, closing his eyes from exhaustion where he stands, releasing his arms as he stands there. He walks towards the bag again, grabbing it and dragging it back to the spot where it was, reconnecting it to the chain.

He is struggling, losing his team like that, and then seeing the man that murdered his mother and father is actually still alive...it is making his psyche crumble. He grits his teeth and starts to punch it again. He doesn’t notice that Jaune has walked into the gym; standing beside Ruyi Jingu Bang leant against the wall. He has Crocea Mors sheathed where he stands and he looks at him. “You alright?” Jaune asks him, Sun pauses and he looks at Jaune. Sun nods and continues to punch the bag.

“Peachy.” Sun responds, punching it again, scowling at the bag to keep on picturing the face of Hazel. But Jaune is not as blind as he used to be to emotions anymore, how he wishes it would be different back at Haven. He walks over to him and draws his sword and he stands there, remembering the training log that Pyrrha gave him. He exhales and he keeps his front foot forward, grip tight and his shield up. He then swings and swings and swings to improve his fighting style, no longer needing the scroll, but he still uses it...just to hear her voice again. Sun watches him as he uses his sword, swinging at the air. He lowers his fists and he stands by the bag, stopping it with one movement of his hand. He crosses his arms behind his head as he always does, and then he walks closer to Jaune, but not too close to gets hit by Crocea Mors. “You’ve gotten better.” Sun points out to him as he observes his fighting style. Jaune stops, his eyes widening since Sun is actually talking to him now.

“Huh?” He responds nervously, as the Arc boy always does.

“Your swordplay, you’ve gotten much better since Beacon, buddy.” Sun compliments, looking at the blade of his sword. Jaune looks at the sword and he smiles, looking at it.

“Yeah...all thanks to Pyrrha.” Jaune says with a smile, and Sun doesn’t even have to ask since he already knows how he felt about her...even if Jaune didn’t realise it at the time.

“Is that what Loss showed you?” Sun asks him, and all Jaune does is nod. They were both subjected to Loss’ hallucinations, and they saw very different things.

“I saw the Ball again, at Beacon...” He states.

“Oh yeah – when you dressed up in that dress!” He remembers with a laugh and Jaune laughs as well.

“Oh god...yeah...that was _really_ uncomfortable.” Jaune reveals as he grabs his sides with his hand.

“I bet – why’d you do it?” Sun asks him and he sighs, touching the side of his head, since it was all to make Pyrrha smile. And it worked, Pyrrha never smiled as much as she did during that dance, the best night of her entire life...it could have been the first of many dances that they had together.

And yet Cinder killed her...and now it is clear that even Cinder does not know why she did it. Wherever she is right now, she vanished after the Emerald Forest, never returned back to Salem’s Sanctum.

She’s just gone.

But they don’t know this...not yet. “I made promise that if she turned up to the dance alone then I would wear a dress...I bought one and expected it to be a waste of lien...apparently not.” Jaune chuckles when remembering that dance that they had together. One of Team J.N.P.R’s defining moments in their lives.

But Sun can see how hurt he is. “I’m sorry, Jaune.” Sun says to him, honestly.

“It felt so real...when she touched me...when we kissed...” He says and Sun nods, since he knows what he means by that kind of feeling, he had the same belief when he saw his mother in front of him with his father.

“Same thing I felt with my parents.” He says, and Jaune turns with shocked eyes, since he didn’t know this information, that he lost his parents.

“You’ve lost your parents?” Jaune asks, and he just nods. “Gods...I’m so sorry, Sun...if I’d have known I would’ve...” He stammers.

“How would’ve you known? The only people who knew are Team S.S.S.N and Blake.” He honestly says to him and he sighs, lowering his head.

“So is that what Loss showed you?” He asks him.

“Yeah, showed me mom and dad...before Hazel killed them.” He snarls with anger, and Jaune looks at him curiously.

“Hazel?” Jaune inquires.

“The Big Guy with the Knife?” Sun describes, seeing if Jaune remembers him, and he quickly remembers seeing him stood against the tree with his arms crossed when Fear was speaking to them. “A couple years ago, he killed my parents right in front of me...I think he killed my mom because of her eyes.” He says to Jaune, catching more of his attention, and with everything going on right now, he figures it out pretty fast.

“She had Silver Eyes?” Jaune asks inquisitively.

“I guess so, but she wasn’t a Huntress, my dad was. She was a farmer’s daughter and we lived on that farm in Vacuo...and they just showed up in a swarm and attacked them all.” He explains, sounding angry from it as well.

“You couldn’t have saved them all.” Jaune says, hoping to help him.

“Of course I was. I’m a Huntsman; it’s my duty to save people from monsters and things like that.” He says to Jaune in defence of his own self-anger. He then starts to punch the bag again with anger at it all. But he stops when Jaune speaks again.

“I was supposed to help Pyrrha.” He says to himself and he stops, finding himself in a difficult position. Either he says what is on his mind and contradicts everything he just said about himself, or he says nothing and sounds like an ass. Sun has always been a very selfless person, always cared about the wellbeing of his friends above himself, so he would happily sound like a hypocrite if it helps someone else.

“That was different, Jaune...she forced you away...nothing you could have done.” Sun says to him, lowering his fists.

“Isn’t there?” He asks with a scoff.

Sun tilts his blonde head. “What do you mean by that?” Sun asks him curiously.

Jaune groans as he remembers back at the time when he was talking to Pyrrha, hoping to make her feel better about it all. The Fall Maiden’s Powers allegedly choosing her, her belief in destiny, all of that...it tore her apart, and Jaune will never forgive them for that – never. “I was talking to Pyrrha the day before – well you know...” He says shyly with anguish in his eyes. Sun just listens to him, he doesn’t interrupt, he just listens to him. “...she asked me about Destiny and whether or not I believe in it...I didn’t know what she meant by that, and she said that she didn’t know if she could truly be a huntress...I thought it had something to do with the Vytal Tournament, not to do with the Fall Maiden...hell I didn’t even _know_ about all of that until recently!” He laughs with amazement at the situation.

“You think that it was because of something you said?” Sun asks him, to see if he is understanding properly. Jaune looks at him and he nods in agreement. “Alright, pal, let me just get this into your skull – you did not kill her. She made her choice when she pushed you away, I know it sounds cold, but she made that choice, you didn’t. And if she just told you the truth then maybe none of it would have happened, sure, but she still made that choice.” Sun says to him, using quite a ruthless way to say it, but it might have been exactly what Jaune needed. Someone to tell him exactly how it was so then he fully understands the situation at hand.

Jaune looks at the floor and he sighs. “Maybe...” He says, before starting again and swinging his sword again. Sun stands there, and he comes up with an idea, one that could help the two of them bond. They have never really spoken much, and this might be the best time for them to bond. He steps away from the Punching Bag and looks at Jaune.

“How’s your hand-to-hand fighting?” Sun asks him and Jaune’s eyes widen at the question and he looks at Sun worryingly.

“Why?” He nervously asks.

“You’re getting better with the sword, but if I have learned anything, you need to know how to fight with your hands. Pyrrha ever teach you that?” Sun asks him, and he stands there nervously.

“Um...no.” Jaune says, remembering back.

“Why not start now?” Sun asks him.

“You’d kick my butt!” Jaune disputes with his hands out.

“I’ll go easy on you.” He says to him, and Jaune sighs, sheathing Crocea Mors and he places it down on one of the tables on the other side of the room so then it is out of the way. He holds his hands up in the defensive position and Jaune clenches his hands into fists. “Come on, swing at me.” He says. Jaune sends his fist towards his hand and he pushes it aside. “Come at me.” He challenges.

Jaune swings again, and Sun grabs his arm and swings him over his shoulder, slamming him onto the padded floor beneath them. Neither of them are going to risk a serious injury, so they could do this all day without even breaking their aura. “Not bad.” Sun says.

“Oh it’s on, Wukong.” Jaune laughs as he gets back up.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.” Sun chuckles

 

 

**Adam**

The girl with the long black hair and pointy cat ears walks with one of her oldest friends, who was once, for a short time an enemy as well. He has a bandage around his eyes, essentially a makeshift mask until he gets a new one. He has Wilt and Blush sheathed on his belt, his horn snapped still. It will stay that way for the rest of his life after his bout with Kassius Locke, one hell of a battle as well. They both walk around the hills outside the base, atop it actually, walking through the grass. “Smells like home.” Adam says to her, remembering what it used to smell like. But when he returned recently, all he could smell was ash. Blake smiles as she walks with him, Gambol Shroud sheathed on her back.

“It does.” She responds as he walks, one would not believe that he is a blind man from how well he moves without needing a stick. But he has adapted his senses over the years. He now can see through sound and smell. They both walk up the hill, a rock behind them as they both walk and he stops at the edge, seemingly looking out at the landscape.

“I’m sorry, Blake.” He admittedly says to her, finally as well. Blake looks at him and he turns to face her. “I was wrong, everything I did was wrong.” He says angrily at himself.

“I was terrified of you for a long time – hell I was planning on killing you at one point.” She says to him, remembering how he cut Yang’s arm off, everything he did at Beacon, the attack, the alliance with Cinder, everything! It is difficult to think if their friendship will ever recover, their love never will.

“Well here I am.” He says to her.

“I’m not going to kill you.” She says to him, showing how much she has changed.

“Because of the Knights?” Adam asks her, thinking about Fury and the others that were at Mistral when he decided to help them out in the battle.

“No.” She tells him, and he looks at her quizzically, since he was expecting that to be the only reason. “Because no matter what happens, my friend is still in there somewhere, I know that Sienna’s blood-thirsty reign has not fully destroyed my childhood friend.” Blake says to him and he sighs, looking down at the floor.

“I don’t know if he still exists anymore...my anger towards humanity after what happened has taken over.” He tells her sombrely.

“And yet here you are, helping Humans and Faunus in need.” Blake says to him, and he chuckles at that.

“Well – I guess maybe it is me that is here because of the Knights; because I am scared...they are going to destroy everything. Cinder told me, she told me of what she saw, what they are capable of. It seems that I am no longer loyal to my own cause.” He chuckles.

“The Albains and Mazen are, though?” She asks.

“Fanatically so.” He answers with a scoff in his voice, and Blake shakes her head in annoyance. The White Fang are still a threat to them.

“What about Ilia?” Blake asks. He pauses, thinking of an answer to her question, and he finally comes up with one with a sigh.

“I don’t know.” He tells her and she looks at him with a confused expression.

“What do you mean, _you don’t know_?” Blake asks him.

“She disappeared, she was with me for a while, but I think she just wants to run away. To hide, as she always does.” He says to her.

Blake chuckles a little. “Isn’t it funny? How I was planning on a revolution against the White Fang to take it back – and now we might just get it back because the Knights are scaring us into joining forces.” She says with amazement at that circumstance. He quietly chuckles in response.

“It is pretty ironic.” He agrees. But he still stands there on his own, feeling that way, anyways. He then asks her what is on his mind. “I’ve heard the way you talk to that guy, Sun?” Adam asks her, to see where things stood, and she sighs.

“I love him.” She admits, looking at him still. “I’m sorry, Adam, but there has been too much blood and cruelty between us for us to ever have whatever it was we once shared.” Blake tells him. “I will be here for you, just as your friend.” She says as she begins to walk away. He looks down at the floor, feeling responsible for all this. But she stops and looks back at him. “But, Adam, I thought I’d let you know that...I think you’re doing the right thing. It may take time for everyone else to be onboard with it, but I think you’re right. You’re father and mom would be proud of you.” She tells him, walking back to the entrance that they came from, returning back inside.

He remains there, listening to the sound of cicadas across the fields, admiring the beauty of nature.

Now he is alone and he sniffs the air, picking something up behind him on that rock. Adam chuckles when he smells the perfume. “I know you’re here, Ilia.” He speaks aloud, turning around. Stood atop the rock, she has been there the whole time, her body shrouded by her Chameleon skin that made her look like the background. She returns to her normal humanoid form with long red hair, staring at him with her blue eyes.

“Why? Why have you turned against the cause? You know the punishment for betrayal; the Albains will have your corpse for this!” Ilia counsels as she stands there, her hair blowing in the wind and her hand grasping the Whip in her clutches.

“Don’t you see, Ilia, that’s precisely the point! It’s the fear, that fear has kept the White Fang in line, it suffocates us!” Adam argues as he stands there, revealing more about the White Fang than he actually told them all. More to it than just Sienna Khan, the Albains seem to be the most dangerous ones of the bunch. “We have been raised by the Leaders of the White Fang to believe that Humanity is the enemy, but we disguise ourselves as our true enemy that haunts us every single day, all to hide us from the truth!” He speaks powerfully to her.

“How dare you speak of truth, _you_ are no Prophet!” Ilia argues, with a pointed finger and angered eyes.

“I dare – because I have decided to see past the very thing that has blinded me, I believed that Humanity is my greatest enemy, but only now do I understand that the real enemy is the one that has been working from the shadows this whole time.” He speaks to her as he stares up at her through the bandage wrapped around his head to hide the damaged eyes that were given to him by the previous Onyx Phantom. “I have committed heresy, Ilia, I have turned against the Albain Prophets, but only for a glimpse, a glimpse into a life outside of the ones those hooded mages have set for us!” Adam argues with anger, revealing so much more about the Albains than previously imagined. They are Prophets, the fanatical leaders behind the real organisation itself, ones more dangerous than even Adam and Sienna Khan combined.

Perhaps they were the ones responsible for the attempted assassination on Ghira all those years ago to get control; perhaps this was always their plan. To take the most fanatical and wipe out the humans once and for all...

...but for what purpose?

“I do not know what lies at the end of such heresy, Adam...” She says with horror, which makes more questions...what kind of punishments would the Albain Prophets have in store for this kind of betrayal? Floggings with Whips? Execution? Burned at a Stake? They represent the fanatical monsters that are formed from Religious Cults, ones that destroy what the Religions truly stand for. “...but do not doubt that the Belladonnas and your father failed to see this light!” Ilia states. “There comes a time in all our lives, when we take such turns from our faith, but unless if you run from it, you will always turn back.” She says, turning and walking away, vanishing again as her scales conceal her.

He turns when hearing her movement.

And she has vanished once more.

She seems to believe the only way to escape the White Fang is to run from it...

...at least Adam is fighting.


	22. Making Preparations

**Ruby**

Ruby remains trapped in her cell at Salem’s Sanctum, and after the Game of Liars Dice she challenged Death to, she has been listening for Mercury, terrified of what Death might do to him. Oscar looks at her and she looks at him. “What was I thinking?” Ruby groans dejectedly as she presses her hands against her face. She has not seen him since the game, she has no idea if he is still alive or not. And with Cinder missing as well, there is a lot happening right now that is making her nervous. Oscar looks at her and he approaches the bars.

“Are you okay?” Oscar asks her, and she sighs with a firm shake of her head, looking at him with her one worried eye.

“No, Oscar...I’m really not.” Ruby sighs, pushing her hand through her black and red fringe of hair that droops over the bandage that covers her impairment. How can she describe her emotions right now? Fear? Anguish? Anger? None of her emotions represent anything close to hatred towards Mercury; somehow...maybe it is because she is trying to forgive him. The Knights tend to have this kind of effect on old enemies by the looks of things. “I was stupid – I got cocky and I tried to get us out of here...why didn’t I think that Death would point out the missing information?” She groans in frustration, hitting the wall with her fist, and then grabbing her wrist from the pain of the shock.

“You couldn’t have predicted that it would have gone down like that, Ruby...none of us could have.” Oscar says to her. Ruby looks at him across the gap between their cells; he has his arms wrapped around his legs where he sits. “Do you think that they are even looking for us?” Oscar asks Ruby quietly, and she looks at him, like she is amazed he would even suggest such a ridiculous question.

“Of course they are, and we will get out of this mess.” Ruby promises.

“How can you promise that?” Oscar scoffs from where he sits, and Ruby looks right at him.

“What do you mean?” Ruby inquires; she can see through him, she can hear the trepidation in the trembling of his voice. He looks at her, fear in his eyes.

“Tyrian has been torturing you, to find Ozpin – and even _I_ don’t know where he is and he is in my head.” Oscar explains with a laugh in his voice. For the first time in a while, the voice of the professor returns to him. He has had to stay silent to protect him from the Knights, since Fear can hear Ozpin’s voice despite being inside of the boy’s head. Oscar’s eyes turn slightly to his side when he hears it, like the voice is coming from other his shoulder, as if Ozpin is directly behind him.

“I can’t let you know where I am hiding, Oscar – out of risk of the Knights finding out, harming you and finding me in the process. I must continue my work in the meantime.” Ozpin reveals to him. He is definitely alive and is hiding somewhere out there in Remnant, a location of which the Knights of Grimm and Salem have not located yet. Wherever he has gone, he must have some kind of plan in motion. Oscar looks at Ruby, and yet she does not look as afraid as he is.

“We don’t have anything – if we don’t have hope.” She says to him, and he looks at her with a surprised expression.

“Hope? I don’t know about you, but things have felt pretty hopeless lately.” He says, looking down at the floor. How he wishes to go back to his life of being a simple farm-hand at Mistral, he never expected his life to go in this direction. But Ruby somehow is able to hold onto hope, despite everything that has happened, the torment she has suffered as being Tyrian’s plaything...losing her eye to Death, being held in this hellhole. She can still find and hold onto hope. “How do you do it?” Oscar asks her, and Ruby looks up at the small window like hole in the wall, seeing the Fractured Moon in the sky, her silver eye staring straight at it. She closes her eyes and sighs.

“Ever since I was little – I’ve always been surrounded by the people I’ve loved. And even when I lose some of them – I have always had the idea that if I kept going, if I held onto hope, then they did not die for nothing.” Ruby explains, looking at him again. “We lost friends at Mistral – Scarlet and Sage; we might have lost more along the way since then. But I will never give up on them, because _that_ is how we survive, Oscar.” She says to him, and Oscar is in awe at how brave she really is. How unbreakable she is, no matter what their enemies try and do, they could make her suffer the worst torments imaginable, and it would still not break her.

They remain sat there and Oscar looks back down, and Ruby feels a cold presence behind her and she jumps when she hears his voice. “You persist to mystify yourself to me.” The voice of Death speaks, and she turns to look at him where he stands. He is only appearing there for her, personally attaching himself there. She looks at him with shock, but the fear quickly fades and she looks back at the floor.

“If you’re gonna kill me – just do it.” She tells him with a sigh and Oscar quickly realises that one of the Knights is speaking to her specifically. Death holds Ferrum Arctus in his metal hand and he presses the blade down into the floor, both hands upon the hilt as he looks at her with those burning red eyes of his.

“That was not part of the agreement.” Death reminds her, still playing that game of chance that they did at her table. When he also showed to Salem that she is truly not in charge anymore, he could have killed her right then and there, and Salem knew that he would have as well. He is not one to tease the death of someone, he _will_ do it, he is not afraid to kill someone. He is the spirit of death after all. Ruby scoffs and stares at the Knight, standing up and staring at him.

“What is it about me that is so interesting to you, huh?” Ruby challenges with clenched fists. She would never stand a chance against him on her own, especially with her bare hands. Death looks at her, and as he always does, there is that very cold silence about him, and then he walks around her cell where she is still trapped.

“Your resolve is inspiring, truly.” Death says to her as he walks. “I have existed for thousands of years, Miss Rose, and I have claimed many lives, and broken many others.” Death explains as he approaches her, his armoured body that is shrouded in a cloak of darkness towers above her, and yet she stands her ground, glaring up at him. “And yet none have been as strong as you, despite everything you have suffered – here you stand – challenging me.” Death chuckles as he looks down at her, despite Ruby being so small physically, her tenacity makes her soul larger and stronger than even Death’s. He does not want to admit it...

...but she intimidates him.

Ruby stares at him with her silver eye, and she bravely speaks again. “Why have you kept me alive this long? It sounded like all Silver Eyed Ones should be killed on sight with you lot.” Ruby questions as she stares into his eyes.

“Because it is not your time.” Death says, and she laughs with amazement, pacing around her cell.

“I don’t get you – one moment you’ll be trying to kill me and the next you won’t? Who are you to decide when someone should live and die?” Ruby questions, and he continues to glare down at her.

Then he says something that confuses her. “All in life is choice – life is flawed – as is death.” He explains quietly and she looks at him, noticing there was some kind of confliction in his voice there.

“What do you mean?” Ruby questions.

“There are signs in the world that show these chances to those who can read them – and your time is not here yet.” Death says as he approaches the cell bars between her and freedom. He approaches it and he speaks. “But believe me; the time will come when the sun of life itself will set – forever.” He snarls, disappearing into a cloud of smoke that completely fades away from her eyes.

They are alone again, finally.

She sighs, looking down at the floor, feeling the warmth return to the room as his cold presence has disappeared. She presses her back to the wall, crossing her arms and he looks at her. “Was that Death?” Oscar asks, sounding less surprised at this point.

“Yep.” Ruby answers with a huff. Oscar chuckles when he thinks back when he used his Semblance by accident. “I don’t get him.” She says. Oscar chuckles, since he agrees with her.

“I know what you mean.” He agrees.

“You know he let me go? When he could have killed me?” Oscar asks her and Ruby looks at him, listening to the story he prepares to tell.

“When?” Ruby asks.

“When I used my semblance against Tyrian, the whole time manipulation thingy.” Oscar explains. “When it all paused, I managed to get out of my cell and explore, and he was there. He could have killed me, probably would have been best to, and yet here I am.” Oscar chuckles, further supporting how flawed Death really is with his beliefs. Ruby contemplates on what she has just been told, on how he managed to get out of his cell that easily. She thinks and thinks, and then she looks at the Farm Boy.

“You managed to get out?” Ruby asks him, and he looks at her.

“Yeah.” He replies.

She smiles. “Then I might have a plan to get us out of this mess.” She says to him, and Oscar looks at her quizzically. Whatever her plan may be, it could be dangerous, but it could also free them both, and even Mercury and Emerald if they can.

 

**Hazel**

 

Oscar looks into the hall across from them and the Knights are all in there. Death returned to his post with Ferrum Arctus pressed downwards, just like he always keeps it. Fear however is at one of the tables, Fury stood there as well as he tells a gripping tale to Tyrian and Watts who are sat down. Hazel however has his arms crossed and is stood in the corner.

“And thus – I thrusted my pike into the chest of the Ursa!” Fear roars triumphantly with the rise of his fist, a curved smirk across his gritted face. “But...did the beast give in? No, it rose back up and with its claws it slashed me across my spine!” Fear theatrically speaks, pointing her long nailed finger to his crooked back. Perhaps it is damaged and that he can repair it now he is in Spiritual Form, using the old version to make himself look scarier. It works the hood, the rotten flesh, the broken bones, the robes of skin – he is monstrous looking, even without Formido Falcem in his presence. Tyrian gasps as he hears the tale and Watts just chuckles as he crosses his legs on the table, sitting back in his chair. Salem has not said a word, looking far less proud and strong as she used to, cowering behind the shadow of Death, who stands relatively close to her side. He makes himself look like a bodyguard, but he is right, he is the one who is truly in command right now.

Not Salem.

“What happened next?” Tyrian asks, like an eager schoolboy hearing a story, wishing to hear the end.

“I’m glad you asked!” Fear chuckles and his talon like nails extend through his skin and he creates shadow images in the light of the fire pit in the centre of the room. The shadows seem to represent the man – Fear – and the big Ursa that he fought, or at least it roughly showed that. “Despite my crippling injury the Ursa gave me, I continued to fight. My pike snapped, I was forced to use a new weapon. I searched on the ground, blood still leaving by spine, and what did I find? I found a knife.” He reveals. “I took the knife and I massacred the beast, ever stab slowly cut it down, and after it died, I limped away to my allies.” He illustrates with his hand, using his hands like a puppeteer.

Hazel rolls his eyes and he pushes himself away from the wall, uncrossing his arms, and leaving the place. He approaches the two cells where of which the prisoners are being held and he looks at them, they were lucky that he never heard them. “Mind if I join you?” He asks them politely and Oscar is the first to speak, since they are both surprised by him being here.

“Sure...” He nervously answers.

“Thanks.” Hazel says, sitting down against the wall of his cell. “I’d rather be in your company than that psychopath’s.” Hazel says, making them both chuckle. He remains there, still able to hear Fear as he narrates his past to the two evil men in there. The roar of Fury as he laughs monstrously, even a hint of anger in his laugh. Oscar looks at him, confused of why he is here.

“What happened?” Oscar asks him, and Hazel looks over his shoulder at him.

“Mm?” Hazel grumbles as he looks over his shoulder at the boy, their matching eyes.

“You said that the _old you_ might still be in you.” Oscar remembers, the last time they spoke before he was sent out on that mission to hunt down the others. Hazel sighs, looking down at the floor.

“Well...old Ozpin...he was once my teacher.” Hazel says to him, it makes Ruby gasp, but Oscar already knew this. He can partially remember what happened between the two of them, sharing his memories and all, but he wants to hear it from him. To hear his side of the tale instead of the one that has been fused to his mind. Ruby grabs onto the bars, it has been a long time since she has heard that name. And from the desperation that Salem faces, he must have something big planned.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Ruby asks him, sounding like the innocent girl again, opposed to the strong defiant one that was heard earlier. He closes his eyes and he sighs.

“Professor Ozpin sacrificed a lot of things on his journey to claim power, Ruby – including people.” He says to her.

“He sacrificed you?” Ruby asks with shock, but he shakes his head.

“He sacrificed my daughter.” He answers with anger in his eyes. “I loved her with all my heart, but she was a Maiden...and he knew she would be hunted down, and he was going to use her to pass the power to that Nikos girl.” He sternfully snarls. Amber – was his daughter...and yet he serves the woman that had her killed.

“You mean Amber?” Ruby asks him.

“Yes, Amber Rainart.” He tells her and she starts to soften up towards him. Hazel has always been – different to the others. Now the truth is revealed, he hates them for what happened to his daughter, because Ozpin did something. “He made sure that the power of the previous Fall Maiden was sent to her, and as a consequence, Cinder went after her.” Hazel explains, and Oscar thinks about Ozpin.

“Those were...troubled times.” Ozpin shamefully says in Oscar’s head, making him grit his teeth in anger. Hazel remains there with sad eyes.

“If – Amber is your daughter, then why do you serve Salem?” Ruby asks him. Hazel exhales when he looks at the Silver Eyed Girl, standing up.

“Because Salem can get me the revenge I want – after Ozpin is dead for what he did – I will have no other reason to exist.” Hazel says to her and she looks down at the floor.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby says.

“I have not been a part of this council long, only a few years, but I will do what must be done if I can get my revenge, for her.” Hazel says to them both, and for once, they can actually fully understand an enemy’s motives. “You need not pity me – I am your enemy.” He says to them, and Oscar looks up at him.

“It’s not too late, Hazel – we can still work together.” Oscar says. He remains silent, and it is very apparent that he is actually considering the thought. But his hunt for vengeance is all that is on his mind.

“You are both good people, and I admire that about you. If you want to survive, play by her rules, in time you will be set free from this mess.” He says to them, and then he looks at Ruby and he smiles, not sinisterly, but kindly. “You remind me a lot of her, you know?” He says and Ruby looks right at him with a surprised expression, tilting her head, looking at him with her single silver eye.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asks him.

“You’re kind – and you don’t take no for an answer.” He says with a laugh in his voice. He looks down the hallway and he can see Emerald with Mercury, her weapons ready, but he seems like he is ready to be killed now. But Emerald does not look as willing as her partner. He sighs. “Whatever happens to him – do not blame yourself, he knew the risks of joining that game, and he is the one that made the bold bet.” Hazel says.

Ruby knows that, the question that bounces in her mind is _why?_

But before they could converse any further, all of them turn when hearing the voice of Death calling out to some individuals. “Time is running out, we must find the Volcanic Chain Islands.” Death’s booming voice says as he steps away from Salem, sword still in hand. The Knights and Circle Members rise up, even they are no longer at Salem’s side anymore, they seem to be just as loyal to Death as they are of her. Or maybe it is just because they are just afraid of him. “It is likely that Argentum Natus’ family of hers has met up with Kragen Nox. If that is true, then that means the old wizard is bound to go to the Library for further information. There is a Visionary Book there, I know that it has information that is important in finding that Island, we need to the location to get there before them.” He explains, his red eyes turn to Fear and Fury. “Fear, Fury – I want you to go to the Library in the outskirts of Vacuo, get the information, destroy the book, and if they get in your way, eliminate them.” Death orders as he looks at his fellow Knights.

Fear and Fury nod, Fury smashes his fists together with a monstrous growl. “With pleasure.” Fury growls as his fiery Wyvern Wings spread from his cape, before he fully transforms into the burning dragon itself. The Dragon roars monstrously, swinging his wings forcefully to launch his infernal form into the sky. Fear’s wings fold out from his body and he morphs into the giant Bat which screeches and follows Fury as they leave her Sanctum. Death turns to Watts.

“Watts, the Onyx Phantom and the Spectre are searching for our enemies. Join them on their search.” He orders.

“Understood.” Watts agrees as he stands up and walks away. He stops and looks back at Salem who looks at him. He was once her most loyal and trusted ally, and he is now following someone else’s orders. He looks at Tyrian.

“You will remain here, they have yet to respond on finding Ozpin, a search I doubt they are taking very seriously. I feel another message is necessary.” Death says to him. Tyrian smirks and looks at Ruby who is looking at the conversation inside and she glares at him with gritted teeth.

“Gladly.” Tyrian giggles.

“Loss and I shall also remain here, as will Hazel. When the information is brought to our attention, we begin our search with the aid of Darren Ortega’s ship. Let us get to work.” Death says coldly, looking at Salem who still has said nothing. He walks away from her and past the cells where Hazel stands by. He looks at Hazel when he stops and then at Ruby. “Enjoying our company?” Death asks her.

“Loving it.” Ruby sarcastically says.

“Well – I’m glad we are entertaining.” He menacingly says, and Ruby flinches when she hears the growing cackles of her arch-nemesis.

 

**Qrow**

Qrow and Kragen have gathered everyone to meet inside of the dining hall of Raven’s Tribe Headquarters. Yang is stood with Kassius in the corner with her arms crossed, looking at Qrow as he stands beside the old Silver Eyed Warrior. Weiss is beside Neptune, her hand in his, his hand on her leg. Blake rests her head on Sun’s shoulder as they listen to what he has to say. The Architect is here as well, his mechanical arms crossed where he stands, still wearing a poncho by the looks of things, his blue optics looking at them all. Winter stands behind Weiss with her hand on her hip and Raven is sat on one of the chairs. Nora is now back on her feet as well, somehow energetic already, Ren has to actually force her into her seat so she is not bouncing around all the time. Jaune is one of the last people to enter the room, whilst Adam is sat down in the corner, tending to Wilt and Blush. Nobody knows about the conversation he had with Ilia outside of the Headquarters, including Kassius.

Qrow begins his explanation to them all. “Alright, we have decided on our next course of action. We need to find Ruby, that is our priority. From what Yang has told us, Ruby is either hidden or is going to be taken to the Volcanic Chain Islands. Their location is unknown, but according to Kragen here, there is a way to know how to find that place.” Qrow explains as he walks around to speak, moving his hands around as he speaks. Yang gasps, her eyes widening and she steps forward.

“How?” Yang asks him desperately, all she wants is to free her sister from the evil clutches of Tyrian Callows. Who could be torturing her right now at this very moment, Hazel is strong but he cannot stop Tyrian forever.

“There is a place called the Library in Vacuo, it’s an ancient structure that could be the place where another Visionary Book is being held.” Kragen answers, since he is an Arkhoni after all. “The Library was the place where the Arkhoni would hide all kinds of secrets, it had Top Level Security, and those measures are likely to still be operational.” He explains, and some of the people in the room gasp with scepticism.

“What kind of defences are we talking about?” Winter asks, needing more intelligence, going into her Military Mind-Set.

“Mostly machines, some traps here and there. But the place is likely to be claimed by the Grimm, it is barely holding together. Because of that, we need to send a small team. Too many people could lead to people getting hurt badly.” Kragen explains, and as much as some of them would like to argue with him, he is the man that would know the most about this information.

“We have already chosen who should come with us.” Qrow says to them all.

“Who?” Weiss inquires.

“Kragen and me, obviously.” He starts. “But we also think that Raven and Winter should come with us as well. From what we have been told, this could be challenging.” He explains and Yang wants to argue, but Kassius stops her by just touching her hand gently and smiling, and she calms down. She wants to be there when finding her, but at the end of the day, Qrow and Kragen are both right. This place is a complete unknown, it would be best for skilled Huntsmen and Huntresses to go. But then, Ren and Nora stand up.

“You’re gonna need me.” Ren says to the two men at the front and they both look at him and everyone turns to look at the two.

“And why is that, if you don’t mind my asking?” Kragen asks him, looking past everyone in the room to look at the Kuroyurian Warrior.

“My semblance would be extremely helpful if it is packed with Grimm.” Ren explains to them, and Qrow remembers well, nodding since he remembered when Ren protected Jaune and him from the Nuckelavee back at Kuroyuri. Qrow turns and looks at Kragen.

“He has a point, he can hide us from the Grimm.” He explains and he nods his head in understanding.

“He’s pretty much a ninja as well.” Nora shrugs.

“And what about you?” Kragen asks politely.

“Packed deal.” Nora simply says as she holds Magnhild on her shoulder. She has only just been let out of the hospital after her concussion and she already wants to start fighting. She never ceases to amaze Ren, or anyone for that matter.

“You just got out of the hospital.” Winter says to her.

“And?” Nora questions, and Winter laughs with amazement at her enthusiasm.

“It’s pointless arguing with her, Kragen.” She huffs. Qrow looks at him, now they have two other members in their team.

“Six Team Members, that sound good?” Qrow asks.

“That should be manageable in there.” He agrees.

They all prepare their missions, but there are others here, those left behind, that now have unfinished business...

Their encounters with Fear and Loss have created old wounds open again, and they need to be healed.

All of them.


	23. Entering the Library

**Weiss**

The boy with the blue hair looks out at the land of Mistral, his sapphire blue eyes staring straight at the old town where he lost his parents. The place that was once his home. He presses his hand against the cold stone wall and then his head against it. He can still hear the roar of the rushing water from the dam, as it completely levelled the houses, causing it all to crumble apart into chunks of burden, carried into the walls surrounding the town. To this day, the walls still stand, and the town is still flooded, but the current has probably calmed since that dreadful day.

The Infiltration Team are getting ready, preparing to head into the Library at Vacuo, since Raven is with them, she can go there with the help of Kragen’s navigation capabilities. Neptune looks back at them, seeing Kragen holding his staff in his hand, but he is still hurt from it all. He continues to look out there, and Weiss sees him staring off into the distance. Weiss flicks her hair back, and she makes her way over to the ocean blue haired boy. He grips the wall tight with his hand, the nails dug into the concrete. “Neptune?” Weiss asks him, she knows what is on his mind, but it doesn’t stop her from worrying.

“I can’t quit thinking about it – what I saw...” Neptune says to her quietly. Weiss can see that his eyes are still fixated on the old town where he once lived. Where he was born, and where he lost his parents from the flood. “There was something I left behind there...” He says as he looks down at the gravel coated floor.

Weiss looks over her shoulder at Kragen Nox who is preparing to leave with the Library Infiltration Team. She then looks at him, like she is plotting something. “What is it?” Weiss asks him, and the Vasillias boy looks at her. He has concerned eyes, he does not want to get her involved in his own business, he is different to Sun in that sort of way. If he has his own personal problems, he does not want others to get their hands in the dirt with him.

“No, I won’t get you involved.” Neptune says, but he doesn’t really have a say in the matter when Weiss grabs his wrist and twists it round with force. Neptune lets out a girly scream; his eyes jut out from their vacancies in his head. “Ow!” Neptune squeals.

“Too late.” Weiss says, being as bitter as always.

“Okay!” Neptune crumbles. Weiss releases him and he exhales, seems like despite everything the Ice Queen is not defeated yet. Even Fear cannot break her, but he has made one hell of an impression on poor Neptune. That is something Weiss will never stand for.

“What is it?” She asks him, sounding gentler this time as she tilts her head with a warm smile amongst her icy cold looking hair. He huffs and puffs, finally telling her what is truly on his mind.

“My mother once wore a medallion.” He begins, looking at her; Weiss listens carefully to his words, her eyes on his as he speaks nervously, unable to look at her. Not from guilt, just because of his emotions. He presses his fingers to his brow. “It had the shape of the Vasillias Family Emblem carved into it, the Trident.” Neptune explains. “It’s still there somewhere.” He says cautiously.

“You want to go back there?” Weiss asks him with a surprised expression.

“You don’t have to come with me, this is for me.” Neptune says as he picks his trident up and holds it tight. Weiss looks at the others and then she whispers into his ear, having to stand on the tips of her toes to get up there.

“We wait until they go to Vacuo, then we go.” She whispers.

“No, I don’t wanna risk your safety.” Neptune argues.

“Too late, it’s already decided.” She says, crossing her arms with a smile on her face, as stubborn as a King Taijitu. He sighs, his shoulders dropping down and his arms going limp as they hang down beside him.

“Fine...” He groans, closing his eyes. Weiss then proceeds to kiss him on the cheek, smiling as she walks away from him, picking Myrtenaster off the table as she walks over to Yang. Yang is looking at Kassius, for some reason there is also something off about him. He has his arms crossed and is away from her. Looking off to the side, he too has something on his mind. Something important that Yang needs to know, nothing is ever simple with Kassius. Especially with his issues.

Yang looks at Weiss when she arrives beside her. “Everything alright?” Weiss asks her.

“Yeah, they’re just getting ready to go.” Yang says with her arms crossed. Weiss looks at Yang, and she puts her hand on the blonde girl’s shoulder.

“It will be okay, we will find Ruby – who knows, she might have already broken out by now. You know how she is.” Weiss laughs as she sits there, but Yang doesn’t laugh. That is the other, most important, thing on her mind. She wants to be there for every effort to find her, and she hates how long it is taking. Ever lead just creates ashes that have no help to them at all.

“I dunno, Weiss – Torchwick and Neo...they were different than the Knights. Those damn things are unpredictable.” She says to her.

“You’re not giving up on us here, are you?” Weiss questions with a near disgusted look. Yang snaps round.

“No, I’m just annoyed.” She says.

“Why?” Weiss interrogates.

“Because we’re getting nowhere! We are no closer to finding her than we were after she was taking by Death and Tyrian! That Scorpion bastard could be hurting her right now.” She snarls with anger, her eyes starting to turn red from anger, the temperature in her blonde hair increasing as well.

“Okay, first of all – snap out of it – second of all – we are closer than we were, because we know about the Volcanic Chain Islands.” Weiss explains, and she knows that she is right. But they have been sitting around and waiting all the time that they are starting to get antsy. “We are going to find her, don’t let the Knights get to your head.” She says to her.

Before they can speak any further, Kragen interrupts them as he holds his staff up. “We will return soon. Remain here, draw out plans, and recover. We will come back with information.” He assures. He takes his staff, raises it into the air and then slams it down onto the ground, creating a heavy metallic bang that rings through the area. His silver eyes glow bright with white light and then they return back to their normal luminance. He turns and behind him, a silver portal forms with a bright event horizon, opposed to Raven’s black and red portals. He turns and walks into it. Qrow looks at Yang and he smiles, nodding to her. Yang smiles back and nods in return, glad that they both managed to repair the damage that Fear made between them. He follows the Silver Eyed Warrior into the portal, followed by Yang’s Mother, Weiss’ Sister, Ren and Nora. Nora smiles as she walks into it, vanishing.

Jaune sits there with his hands clutching to Crocea Mors, he still can’t get Pyrrha out of his head. Sun can’t get his parents out of his. Only a few have managed to recover, two of them have just left; Blake and Weiss are the ones among them. The Architect has remained here, keeping an eye on them all.

_Meaning they will have to get past him._

**Qrow**

They emerge from the portal, and they are all hit by the warm air of Vacuo blowing into their faces. Qrow has to shield his face with his hand, groaning from the searing hot sun that bears down on them all. He squints his eyes as sand blows against his body, looking straight ahead. Kragen Nox has not flinched, he stands tall with his cloak blowing in the hot wind, hand grasped firmly on his staff. Winter, Raven, Ren and Nora exit the doorway and it closes behind them. Nora yelps from the extremely hot air, opposed to the brisk wind of Mistral, so close to the mountains. Surprised it’s not snowing over there at this point.

As their eyes become accustomed to the bright sun, it is at that point that they see what Kragen is looking at. In front of them all is the huge structure, nearly buried in sand over time, the huge stone walls being eroded down over time. The howling of the wind whistles through the fissures and cracks across the huge edifice. The sun glares over the top of the Library and Raven walks past Qrow to the side of Nox. She looks at him, her long black hair blowing in the heavy wind. “Is that the place?” Raven asks him, he looks at her, sand being blown into his grey beard and hair. He grabs his hood and pulls it over his head to protect himself from the hot sand.

“Welcome to the Library of the Anxuarian Desert, or as the current Generation call it – Vacuo.” He says to them all, either sounding proud or disgusted. However, none tend to argue with him, since he already starts to walk towards it. He walks easily through the sand, using the staff like a walking cane one would use when taking a long trek. Nora shields her eyes with her pink gloved hand, keeping her face safe from the hot sun baked sand.

“This is where Sun was born?” Nora questions as she struggles through the extreme temperatures that they are surrounded by.

“For some reason, it makes a lot of sense.” Qrow chuckles, looking at Nora as he walks with her, using the huge metal blade of his sword as a shield to protect his face from the sand. Raven puts her helmet on, the white and red plates stopping the sand, and Winter casts a Glyph around her body that keeps her safe from it all. Nora and Ren only can use their hands and lower their heads. Ren’s long black hair dances in the wind. All but Kragen struggle against the wind, perhaps hundreds, thousands of years, of existence has made him become resistant to all kinds of environmental displays that Remnant offers.

They pass by an old collapsed statue of a man with his hands pressed down on the head of his hilt. The stone that shaped the statue cracked and sanded down over the years of wind erosion. Kragen steps onto the stone steps that rise from the dunes of sand. It is clear that the structure has begun to sink into the dunes of sand over the millennia it has been left there. The door still remains in function, a huge pair of thick metal doors that has a mechanism inside that controls it. Kragen stops in front of it, and he looks straight into one of the sections of the door. Is eyes glow bright and a faint silver beam of light leaves his irises and they enter the chambers, spreading the same white light of the Silver Eyes through the metal wall. If this place was extremely high security, perhaps only Silver Eyed Warriors were trusted entry to this place. Perhaps when the Arkhoni were around, there were many more of the Silver Eyed Warriors out there.

There is a cacophonous bang from inside the mechanism and they all observe as the plates of metal inside the mechanism begin to shift and unlock. The huge pistons parting from one another, before the doors finally open before them. Qrow lowers the blade of his sword and looks at the old man. “Were the Arkhoni always so – complicated with designs?” Qrow asks him curiously. Kragen chuckles with a smile, turning to face him.

“Oh, you have no idea.” He says, patting his shoulder as he enters the Library before the rest of them even take another step forward. Qrow groans, looking at the others who are just as lost as he is.

“That really doesn’t fill me with confidence.” He says to them.

“Come on, let’s get moving.” Raven tells him, her voice slightly muffled behind her helm on her head. Ren and Nora follow them inside, and the abrupt change from hot to cool air in the shadows of the dark structure is very calming to them all. Nora pulls some of the sand from her orange hair and Ren knocks some from his ear. Winter releases the glyphs from around her body and Qrow sheathes his sword. Raven however keeps the helmet on, and Nox keeps his hood pulled over his head, like some sort of Mage. The wind whispers through the cracks in the structure, the sun’s rays leaking through the damage done to the walls and roof. Kragen’s silver eyes begin to emit a faint glow, one bright enough to light their way. Nora catches up to the Warrior, unable to stop looking at his eyes.

“Could Ruby do this kind of stuff?” She asks him, and he looks at the curious girl.

“With the training, she will be more powerful than I am. She already is.” He says to her as he walks through the place, his foot kicking through a lump of sand that has congregated from falling through the damaged structure. Nora’s eyes widen with awe, hearing this man say that, and he is already extremely powerful...what could Ruby be capable of?

They have already seen it...

...the Grimm Dragon.

“She created a Beacon of hope when she froze that Dragon on that tower, a Beacon I saw from the fortress. I knew as soon as I sensed her presence that she was the Girl in the Tower that I have been waiting for.” He explains, and Qrow stops for a second, his eyes widening when he looks at Kragen.

“The Girl in the Tower?” Qrow recites from what he said. Kragen stops and turns to face him, looking right at him with his silver eyes. Qrow waits for him to continue, desperate for an answer.

“Have you heard of the Tale?” Kragen asks him.

“A simple Bard’s Tale.” Qrow says.

“As were the Knights of Grimm, the Maidens and the Two Brothers...one of those I had a hand in creating.” He chuckles, remembering about how _he_ was the one who actually created the Four Maidens. Wherever they are now is a mystery to the world. “We all know that Bard’s Tales have some element of truth behind them, otherwise how did they begin?” He asks him, and he scoffs in agreement. The world of Remnant is a scary place to live in, and it just seems to get crazier by the hour.

“I haven’t heard the tale.” Nora speaks out. Kragen looks at her and he presses both hands upon the top of his staff.

“Well – the tale has been seen in many different forms. As Rapunzel and countless other damsels in distress. But the tale has predicted something else entirely, the tale of one who would become extraordinarily powerful. One that would be born through a great deal of suffering and could bring an end to suffering once and for all.” He explains to them all, walking around with his staff in hand. “I have been waiting ever since the fall of Arkhonex to find this girl, the Girl in the Tower, and teach her how to use her powers for good...that is where I failed with the Maidens.” He sighs as he looks down at the floor.

Raven looks at him through her helmet. “You tried to create the warriors, didn’t you? By making the Four Maidens?” Raven questions, and he turns to face them all, leaning against an old stone pillar that has collapsed over time. He nods gently to them.

“Hundreds of years passed when I was stuck in that little hut in the middle of nowhere, wars breaking out amongst everyone. Survivors from Arkhonex formed other allegiances across Remnant, these places slowly evolved into the Kingdoms we have now. But before then, it was just bloodshed. The Knights played their hand well, tore our society apart, leading into a century long war that nearly wiped us out.” Kragen explains, and Qrow listens with awe, he never heard of this information until now. And if Ozpin did...then he was keeping other members of his Brotherhood in the dark as well. “I had to do something, and one day when I was trying to find this girl, four beautiful young women found me and aided me, showed me that there was more to them that met the eye. They showed me that humanity was still worth saving.” He chuckles.

He then looks down at the floor. “There was one – one who decided to stay with me instead of going out there on her own. We...grew close.” He tells them as he looks at Qrow.

“Who was she?” Nora asks.

“Her name was Yenna Azula, she is the Spring Maiden.” Kragen tells them and all of them share the same reaction at the word _is_.

“She’s still alive?” Winter questions with disbelief in her voice.

“How do you know?” Ren adds. Kragen then reaches over to something wrapped around his neck, and he lifts it up. A necklace with a beautiful flower engraved into it, the flower of spring. It then emits a faint hue of green light that pulsates through him. He then looks at them all.

“Because we share this necklace, our souls bound together.” Kragen tells them truthfully and they listen further. “She decided to stay with me, because she never wanted me to be lonely. We spent years together, eventually married, loved...but could never have children...that was the price of our gifts.” He explains, clearly relating to however he managed to gain the power of immortality.

“What gifts?” Raven asks.

“I was tasked with many duties when Arkhonex fell, one of them was to keep guard of the Relics, and I did so. They ordered me to use the relics to cast a power upon myself with my eyes, sacrificing most of my strength to become immortal. But what Immortality never told me, was that you do not remain young, you would still age and age, but would never die...that is how Spring kept me going. Yenna’s gift that I gave her, managed to return me to a younger age, and she has been able to stay this age as well...without her...I grow older again.” He explains. “When the girls found me, I granted them the same gifts, but I have them more, I gave them what I saw in them. Yenna was gentle and gave me reason to care again, Summer made me feel like there was hope for this world, Fall showed me that the world can adapt, and Winter showed me that Remnant will survive.” He explains, using the seasons to describe each girl, except for Spring, he used her real name. He loves her, so much that he has returned to protect Remnant again, instead of cowering as he used to.

“How did you lose the Relics?” Nora asks him.

“I did not lose them; I was forced to hide them.” He explains.

“What happened?” Ren asks.

He stands there, reminiscing back to that very day. “The War swept into my land.” He begins.

 

**Kragen**

 

He looks back on his past, through billions of memories through the hours he has lived through. The millions, billions, perhaps even trillions, of souls that he has spoken to. And then it returns to his little home in the middle of a field in Vale. His beloved wife snuggled up to his side, his younger side. He once had a head of brown hair instead of grey, and he shaved his beard. He must have been in his thirties at this point, opposed to the old man that he has become thousands of years later. Even Immortality makes him seem to wither, or maybe there is another reason he does not seem as young anymore...

He and his wife, Yenna, are asleep in their bed together, their clothes thrown onto the floor after a romantic night together. Yenna had long, raven black, hair that smells of lilac and gooseberries. Her large violet eyes are closed as she is snuggled up to the man she adores. A triangular shaped face with pale complexion with a mole under her lip, very small and adds to her beauty. Her black hair is in curls that Young Kragen has buried his face into. Their rings on their fingers and hands held, his arm around her thin curvy body. Compared to the other girls, she was always the smallest, and yet the kindest of all the kind women. She moans affectionately when she feels his hand moving across her skin and she looks over at him, turning under the sheets to look at the handsome man. His beard is slowly returning at this point, bristles on his chin. “Now, now, Kragen...wouldn’t want us to get _too_ excited now, would we?” She whispers seductively with a smile as she kisses him and rolls onto his chest, seducing him into intercourse.

“Impressive for a Spring Maiden.” He chuckles.

Yenna smiles as she caresses his cheek with her finger. “Oh, I’ll show you impressive.” She intimately whispers. She leans down to kiss him, until there is a loud explosion outside their house. The naked couple gasp, her violet eyes widen, and Kragen instinctively grabs her and they dive from their bed as the wall of their house explodes from a catapult’s ammunition comes plummeting down into the ground beside them. They can hear the screaming people in the middle of conflict nearby. A skirmish has begun so fast that they never noticed during their slumber together. Kragen looks out the window of his little house and he sees the battle, men slaughtering each other in droves with swords, axes and hammers. Blood covering the once lush green land that he and his wife had tended to, death spreading through the landscape.

Kragen turns to her. “Their war has come here!” He says to her. The nude pair turn to their clothes on the floor and they pick them up, clipping and zipping them up. She wears a black and white combat dress and as she rises, the flowers in their pot rise up. He puts his cloak back on, wearing armour underneath it to protect himself. Immortality does not mean invincibility; he is still susceptible to death. They have a pair of horses outside their hut and they mount them, charging towards the battlefield, he picks up his staff just before mounting the horse.

In the battlefield, a warrior howls monstrously, axe held high and blood splattered across his face from the people he has slain, a main split clean through the middle by that very weapon. He stumbles and he looks over his shoulder when he sees Yenna charging at him with her horse. He scowls with hate, bringing the axe down hard on the mane of the Horse, slicing clean through the hair and the skin, flesh and bone. Blood erupts from the wound and the horse crumples to the ground, the head bounces across the floor, and Yenna is thrown from the saddle. She crashes down into the ground and rolls across the floor, bruised and hurt from the landing. She focuses her eyes on the man and then sees Kragen sprinting at him, smashing his staff into the side of his face, but it did little to the man. Only making him stumble.

But as the soldier goes to kill her beloved, suddenly roots grow up from the ground and they push their way through his legs and into the rest of his body, tunnelling through and popping though his eyes as he chokes. She then opens her hands and the roots are pulls apart and the man explodes like a balloon into bits of mean that bounces across the ground. The blood goes everywhere, across the side of the Spring Maiden’s face and he sprints over to her, helping her back to her feet. They immediately turn when they search for the place they hid the Relics. They charge towards a beautiful tree, one that is now plagued with flames. He grabs the bark and pulls it open, and instead of finding a stump, they find the hollow interior where the four rocks have been hidden. Instead of using something obvious, they hid them in a tree so nobody would ever guess it.

But with a war breaking out, they could do more damage than good outside of that safety. He picks them up with ease; unable to be effected by their power because of the gift of the Silver Eyed Warriors, whatever this secret is that has been passed onto them. He hides them in his cloak and he looks at her. She caresses his cheek and smiles. “I will hold them off, get to safety, I will always find you.” She promises as she holds her necklace and they both glow. She wraps her arms around him and kisses him on the lips, closing her eyes as he holds her tight. She gasps when she hears their home exploding as another flaming barrage of catapult boulders crashes down into the house that they had built over the years together. The burning shards of wood and mortar thrown across the land. She then turns and pushes her husband. “Go!” She begs tearfully.

“I will find you.” He promises as he gets onto the saddle of his horse. “Hya!” He yells, kicking the horse with his heel and the creature neighs as it rears up and kicks its hooves, charging off into the wilderness. Yenna stands there and she turns to the battlefield as a battalion of horsemen charge towards the other side at their home and she walks in the middle of the warzone. She stands amongst the corpses, holding her hands out and closes her eyes. The rumbling of the horses galloping gets nearer and nearer to her as she stands there. Her eyes gently open and her violet eyes glow faint orange, same as the Fall Maiden’s, perhaps just as the other Maidens as well. However, she does not have the same powers, she has something else. There is a tremor that passes through the soil beneath her and the ground quivers.

Unexpectedly, her magical powers are unveiled as the ground explodes, and a collection of huge root like trees rises from the ground and the roots smash straight into the horses, protecting her and annihilating the horsemen, killing them and their steeds from the powerful impacts. Blood spreading everywhere like a plague. The plants flower from the incredible plants that she has summoned, and the roots wrap around some of the survivors and they pull them into the soil. One of them wails for mercy, reaching to sky until he can only breathe in dirt as he is buried alive with his allies.

She falls to one knee from weakness, the battle still going on.

Unaware of where her beloved is...

But she has no time to worry when she smells the stench of a wildfire nearby. Not related to the battle at all. She looks over her shoulder and she gasps when she sees them stood there. Death stood at the front with Ferrum Arctus gripped in his gauntleted hand, his glowing red eyes staring at her and darkness trails from his armoured form. Fear stood beside him, Loss on his right and Fury on his far left. But on his far right is one that is no longer amongst them, the one that Kragen claimed he managed to defeat. The Knight of Vengeance. He was a terrifying looking monster, one who consisted of electricity, thunderclouds with never ending storms of revenge flowing through the floating chunks of metal that makes his form. He holds a Maze with electricity sparking across the barbs, the electrical embers dripping into the soil. His eyes are comprised of lightning that are furious, the same as his mouth. The Five Knights all glare at her and she stares right back.

She knows who they are.

She quickly gets back up to her feet and she retreats from the scene. As she passes a root, her form transforms into a beautiful Robin that flies away, tweeting gently as it glides into the sky. Death’s burning red eyes follow the Robin and he snarls with anger. But then the five of them focus on the battlefield. They would go after her, but they were attracted here, with the Grimm, and they have a duty to attend to. The five of them charge towards the battlefield and the soldiers scream in terror when they turn and they see the Knights of Grimm jumping towards them, weapons at the ready, Loss with her Bow drawn back. They all attack, the screams and bloodshed erupting afterwards...

 

Kragen returns to the present, grown old from being so far from the woman he loves with all his heart. Everyone looks at him with shock. The Knights have been after them for so long, and they know that both sides are still alive, but have been unable to find each other. “Yenna’s sisters all perished and passed their abilities on to other Maidens, but she still lives.” Kragen states and they all nod.

“You think that Visionary Book could also help us find her?” Qrow asks.

“No harm in trying.” He shrugs.

“Then come on, let’s go.” Qrow says.

Kragen nods and they get moving again, after what they have learned about the Maidens. They were created in the hope of saving Humanity and the Faunus...

Look what that has lead to.


	24. The Medallion - Pt. 1

**Neptune**

He paces through the forest outside of the city of Mistral, they managed to get out in time after Kragen and the others left to go to the Library of Vacuo. He holds his rifle in his hands as he walks, hearing the distant roars of Grimm in the distance, normally just Beowulves. Nothing they can’t handle, but the Dragon is somewhere out there. They have not seen it since it vanished from Mistral; they’ve no idea of how far away that monster could be, or what it is up to. Neptune has an expression on his face that Weiss has never seen before, no smirk on his face, no countenance which wants to crack some kind of cringe-worthy joke. He is serious right now and he has said nothing to her, and she looks at him as he walks, a frown plaguing his face. She lowers Myrtenaster when she reaches to his hand and weaves her fingers through his and holds his hand as they walk. Ignoring the Grimm, ignoring the past, ignoring Mistral. “It’s all going to be okay, Neptune.” Weiss assures, and he continues to look ahead, but he does not push her away. He continues to hold her hand as they walk.

“I have nothing to keep them in my memory, all I have is the symbol...I need something for me to remember them by.” Neptune explains to her as he walks, a distant Grimm’s howl making them both jump and flinch, turning in the direction it came from. They both point their weapons in the given direction. But there’s no Beowulf nearby, just the howls of them in the distance. They both relax and they continue to walk through the forest, little twinkling fireflies flutter around them. Weiss wears her Snowpea Jacket that she wore a year ago, when following the trail on Torchwick, so long ago it feels like now. When wearing it, she looks at him and then she begins to talk about it again.

“Remember back with Torchwick?” Weiss asks him and he looks at her. “How against the odds we felt then? I was always saying that we weren’t ready...maybe Blake was right.” Weiss says as she walks, and Neptune tilts his head.

“What do you mean?” Neptune asks her. Weiss laughs as she flicks her hair back.

“She said that _we may never be ready_. We had no idea that the Knights were planning their return...and here we are...stuck in the middle of it.” Weiss remembers as she walks and he puts his arm around her shoulders, like he can sense that something is on her mind that she is struggling to get out.

“What’s wrong?” Neptune asks her, she closes her eyes and then looks at him after they open again.

“I was so cruel to everyone – using my own problems in my life to justify it in my own head...how I treated Ruby when I first met her.” Weiss scoffs, and Neptune immediately shakes his head dismissively. But Weiss continues to act so sombrely, something she shouldn’t really be doing with the Knights presence everywhere they tread. “She was only trying to prove herself, and I kept on crushing her down like that. And now she is being hurt every day by a madman...” She snarls to herself, clenching her hand into a fist, and Neptune stops her and he looks into her eyes.

“Don’t start talking like that, Weiss.” Neptune says to her but she steps away from him and walks over to a tree to press her hand on.

“If she dies – I will never be able to live with myself.” Weiss confesses to him with tears welling up in her large blue eyes where she stands. Neptune walks over to her and he turns her around, wiping the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

“She’s not gonna die, she’s tough as nails.” Neptune promises. But Weiss knows that being tough counts for nothing against the Knights of Grimm, especially with Death. Because he is merciless and does not shy away from taking the life from someone. Weiss looks up at him by the tree.

“So was Pyrrha.” Weiss sadly says as she walks away from him, and Neptune stands there, looking down at the floor. No one has truly been able to recover from Pyrrha’s death; he turns and then follows her, remaining on the direction to the town which fell years ago.

After some time walking, they both stop when they see the huge overgrown walls of the town ahead of them. Water leaking out of some cracks every now and then. It must be falling apart over the years of holding all that water inside there. The very things that protected the people inside, became nothing more than a cage that killed them all in the end. The irony as well, that the very thing that keeps people alive can kill them just as easily. Neptune shudders when he looks at the walls, the roar of the rushing water has faded, it is calmer now, but probably is still filled with the corpses of the dead. He clenches his hand into a fist when he looks at it, fighting and facing his fear. He walks towards the wall and he climbs up the cracks carefully, making sure that he does not pull out any slabs of concrete and cause a new chaotic flood. It is like another dam built to contain the water, one that is falling apart right now. Weiss follows him, carefully climbing up the side of the wall behind him, using her hands and her feet as well as she can to clamber up it. She reaches up and grabs onto the top of the wall. She pulls herself up and then sits on the top of the wall, and she looks in awe at the place. Most of the buildings have been toppled over by the water but some were sturdy enough to remain upright, but over years of erosion and rot from the water, they are falling apart anyway. The bridge is still there, hardly even together anymore, rusted cars trapped in the water, pushed against the walls that contain the water. Neptune’s eyes follow up the scarred hill of which the water fell from, the trees smashed down and the marks left behind where the water once flowed.

He still shakes when looking at the water beneath his feet, the algae that has grown inside the water and staining the rusted cars trapped in its flow. The water still moves around, but more like a gentle river that flows around constantly. Weiss looks at him, and she knows that they need to stay on task, so she asks him a pretty good question to help him snap out of it. “Neptune, where did it happen?” Weiss asks him, the best possible start when looking for a Medallion. Neptune looks at the bridge, and his nightmare can be seen again, from here he can spot the past version of himself, wailing for his mother and father as they were thrown from the bridge and into the water. Where they drowned to death, or were crushed from the debris in the current of the water. It is hard to tell from how aggressive this tragedy was. He extends his finger to the bridge so then she can see it, the bridge’s main support is barely holding the structure up there. It could collapse at a moment’s notice. A moment that neither of them want to be caught in.

“They fell right there.” He says, pointing at the exact point on the bridge, ironically is the same place that is actually still standing on the bridge. Even more ironic is the fact that it is the most intact section of it all. Weiss begins to analyse the structures of their surroundings on how to get to that point. But there are so many places of which where they could have been carried off by the water. She then sees a destroyed restaurant where a car has been thrown into and the water has flooded it. Weiss looks at him, and he is looking aimlessly at the destruction, it must be extremely difficult for him to come back here. “Oh gods...we shouldn’t have come here, Weiss. Let’s go.” He dismisses as he turns, but she grabs him and holds him there.

“No, you said so yourself, you need to face this. I’m not about to let you just cut and run now. Come on, get a hold of yourself.” She tells him sternfully. He sighs and tries to rebuild his courage in himself; he nods and fights his fears in his mind.

“O-Okay.” He agrees with a stammer. Weiss looks at the restaurant again to try and figure out where they could have been pulled.

“I know this would be a hard question to ask, Nep, but could you try and remember what direction the water was flowing when they fell?” Weiss affectionately asks him, looking at him with warmer eyes now. He thinks back, closing his eyes to see the nightmare again. That is something that is extremely dangerous, like any form of Grimm, the worst fears buried inside of someone can attract Fear to arrive at their location. He can be at multiple locations at once as a Spirit, and therefore they must be careful. Wraiths are unpredictable, especially one that uses terror as a weapon, the very same nightmare that he placed inside of Neptune’s mind is still there, like a tumour that it there to make him suffer. He shudders, feeling the hairs standing on the back of his neck and he grips the stone wall that he stands on, feeling the water rushing harder and harder.

Then he sees it all again with sharp intakes of air rushing through him. But this time he is not watching from his current eyes, overseeing himself sobbing as his parents died. He is seeing it from his eyes as a child, his sockets overflowing with tears like the town is becoming. His dolorous streams running down his younger cheeks where he stands. He watches his parents falling, and he can see the medallion falling from her neck before she and his father vanish into the torrent beneath them. The inundation is moving towards the walls, and there are three areas that they could check as it heads off in another direction. A bank, the restaurant and an old house. All are possibilities...

...he might have to face the potential consequence of finding their skeletons...

But he knows he must do this. He opens his real eyes, wet from his anguish and he nearly falls from the wall, but Weiss grabs his hand, keeping him atop the wall with her. “Stay with me.” She whispers gently, his hairs are still on end, and he checks for the Knight’s presence. Every bush scares him, every tree looks like a person...

But he is not actually here.

He shakes the dread from his shoulders. “Sorry – I thought he could have been here.” Neptune tells her as he looks around the area. She smiles and caresses his cheek with her hand and thumb.

“Even if he were here, we’d kick his butt.” She giggles to keep him happy and he grins and nods.

“Yeah – we can show him whose boss!” He agrees. He then returns to what he was searching for and he stands tall, towering above his lover and he points with his finger towards the three buildings that are possibilities. “Those three buildings.” He says, snapping out from his previous joy attitude to a serious one extremely fast. Weiss looks at the buildings and she stands beside him and then looks at him.

“Well, that beats the hell out of an entire town.” She says to him, patting his shoulder as they balance across the wall to get to one of the buildings. Weiss looks down, seeing the water beneath her, filled with old debris and pollution from burst oil pumps and other things in here. Shards of wood flowing around inside like piranhas do when searching for food. She holds Myrtenaster tight in her grip, her eyes locking onto Neptune and she nods. She jumps and falls towards the roof of one of the buildings. She is lighter than Neptune, so it does not seem to have much of an effect. She lands, using her hand to soften the land, rising up with form, looking at him. Neptune peers over and looks at the water.

“Just don’t look down.” Neptune mutters to himself. He gets ready and then launches himself with a girly scream as he soars across the gap between the building and the wall. He lands it however, rolling across the roof to send the energy from the landing elsewhere. He slams his fist into the gravel covered roof, flora growing on top of it. A bird tweets and flies away from its nest atop the roof and they walk past the nest where the eggs are left. The bird glides around above them, watching them. But they have no quarrel with the bird, so they keep on their way. They all look around and they keep moving.

Little do they know...

They are being watched.

A man walks silently across the buildings outside of their view, some kind of mechanical beings following him with spider like legs as they move across the roofs before turning invisible. Other shadowy figures in the shadows.

Weiss heads into one of the buildings, the house first, whilst Neptune investigates the restaurant first. He slides down the caved-in roof and he looks for the medallion. There is a car that has been thrown through the window by the vigorous current. The windows shattered and a skeleton stuck in the driver’s seat, moss and algae grown into the bones where it lay in the truck as it rusts down. Neptune looks away and he climbs across the sections away from the water inside. His phobia controlling his senses as he moves around, keeping an eye out for anything. Bottles of liquor are still in here along with mouldy food left behind, such as stale bread and soggy crumpets left to decay. Flies buzz around inside as they feast on the remains of everything left inside.

He coughs with disgust.

In the other building, Weiss walks around, on one of the higher levels. The walls, the whole building for that matter, is hardly even holding together. Ribs of rebar sticking out from the concrete and the wooden surroundings of the house, windows shattered. The wooden floorboards creak and groan as she walks around, and she watches every step that she takes, keeping the tip of her fencing sword pushed forward, ready to be plunged into the heart of any unknown messenger round the corner.

She then approaches something of interest, a car that has been wedged into the corner and on the bonnet is an amulet. She gasps; her eyes widen as she crouches down and picks it up, looking at the engravings on it.

It is the Vasillias Trident.

She smiles and she turns around, and as she does, her heart nearly leaps from her ribcage, and she points Myrtenaster at the individual stood behind her. Not Neptune, but someone else entirely.

A holographic projection approaches her with his hand gripped to a small glass of whiskey, his red handkerchief in his breast pocket. His white hair slicked back and moustache styled. Even in holographic form, there is an icy cold presence about him as he smirks sinisterly at his own daughter. “Well, well – the Ice Queen lives.” He chuckles and Weiss grits her teeth with anger when she stares at Jacques.

“Hello father.” Weiss snarls as she stares at him.

“Why, you almost sound like you’re not happy to see me.” Jacques sarcastically says as she stares at him and lowers the weapon, since she knows he knows that he is no immediate threat to her, and she is no threat to him.

At least for now.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Weiss scoffs with a shrug.

“Well, I must admit I am glad that you are not dead. When I heard that Death stabbed you with that weapon of his, I feared that my daughter, a Schnee, would die so helplessly.” He explains and Weiss laughs with amazement at that mockery.

“Have you ever cared about me, about Winter? About _mother_?” Weiss interrogates, pointing straight at him and he hardly even moves from her comment, colder than she tends to be when it comes down to emotions. Clear to see where she inherited that from, and nothing else.

“When I felt you could have made something of yourself, instead of some misguided pawn on someone else’s chessboard.” Jacques states to her as he moves his glass with ice cubes clinking around inside of the glass of alcohol. Weiss scowls at him and she shakes her head, knowing that the family was only a means to an end to him.

“I don’t know why I even bothered asking – you are a monster, a cruel man who only cares about winning. I remember the bruises on mom, on Winter, on me.” She lists perfectly with anger in her eyes towards her own father. And he just smirks, which causes the Schnee Girl’s blood to boil. Her hand clenches into a fist when she stares at him.

“Winning is only one part of the game – being remembered forever – that is the goal.” He says proudly as he straightens his collar with his free hand.

“As if I couldn’t despise you any further.” Weiss says with amazement in her voice. “Grandfather Nicholas would be disappointed in you.” Weiss scorns and he stares straight into her eyes.

“Do you really think I give a damn about what that old man would have thought? He was a fool, and it is hypocritical of that coming from you, Weiss. Falling in love with a jock like Neptune Vasillias, a failure, one who cannot even live up to his own name because of childish fears?” Jacques hideously challenges, using Neptune as a weapon, but this just fuels her anger against him and she takes a step forward.

“How dare you.” She snarls quietly and he tilts his head. “He lost his parents because of water – don’t you ever call that a goddamn childish fear.” She whispers with pure anger and hate in her voice as she stares up into her father’s eyes and he does not even change a single millimetre of his expression. “And I would stand by his side until the end, I choose who I love, and I chose Neptune.” She admits with love in her heart for him. Jacques lifts his glass up to his mouth and drinks some of the whiskey inside and he exhales with delight from it, setting the glass down on the table back at his office in the Schnee Manor.

“How I wish you would have simply seen the truth – you could have made things so much easier – could have been something I could have been proud of.” Jacques says to her and Weiss laughs.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to disappoint you.” She sarcastically says with a bow. She then rises back up with perfect form, staring back at her arch-enemy again with stern in those blue eyes.

“Well – I hope you enjoy the time you have with your lover – it will not be a luxury I will allow forever.” He tells her, about to leave, but then she stops him.

“Wait!” She shouts and he stops, his holographic form turning to face her, the device still activated. One question is in her mind.

One very...important...question.

She looks straight at him. “How did you know we would be here?” She questions and he turns fully to face her.

“I knew of what happened to his parents, Weiss.” He says to her and her eyes widen. The town has been bugged, in case if she or Neptune ever showed up, they would be able to know. If he knows...then that can mean only one thing.

Goons with guns on their way.

 “I hope he enjoys having that Medallion back, Weiss...I truly do.” He says to her. Before he vanishes, he gives her one last smirk. “Goodbye – Weiss.” He says.

The hologram vanishes in front of her and the spherical device that projected it flies away. Back at Atlas, he stands before his desk with a Chessboard in play and he knocks the king off the table and he walks away from it with a smile. “I do love winning, after all.” He admits in private.

Weiss takes a step back and her eyes widen when they focus on the individual across the river from her.

He stands tall with many Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries stood with him. He wears a gray overcoat with yellow linings, a yellow dress shirt and a black necktie. His pants are the same colour as his overcoat. His yellow-buttoned undercoat and fingerless gloves match his cordovan shoes, under which he wears yellow socks. His green eyes are locked with Weiss’ blue ones and he flexes out his back moustache and he smirks underneath it. He reaches into his overcoat, pulling out a pair of Magnum Revolvers, spinning them through his fingers. There are also mechanical adversaries as well, some shaped like people, others like spiders and some fly around them. The soldiers all aim their weapons at them.

Arthur Watts smirks. “Hello, Miss Schnee.” He greets.

Then the bullets begin to fly.


	25. The Medallion - Pt. 2

**Yang**

Waiting for more answers, a response from Qrow and Nox, Yang walks around the area, searching for Kassius. Wherever he is, she has not seen him since he was looking concerned earlier, and she has absolutely no idea of where Weiss and Neptune have vanished off to. She turns a corner and decides to take a chance; he did claim this room after they were offered places to stay. She pushes the door open, since it is not shut properly and she walks into the room. Her instincts were right, and she was not expecting to see what is in front of her.

Kassius is stood by his bed with a sniper rifle being packed into a rifle case, one he has zipped up. Kassius looks over his shoulder swiftly and he looks straight at Yang, seeing her concern on her face. His scars across the side of his face are covered up by the shadows of the room, and he only says one thing. “Busted.” He groans.

“What are you doing?” Yang asks him, taking a few steps closer to him. He shakes his head.

“Nope! No way, I’m not getting you involved in my business, forget you ever saw this.” He tells her as he continues to pack some essentials up. Food, water, things like that. He aims to go out there for some time if he is taking stuff like that with him. But Yang is not one to take no for an answer, and she walks up to him and grabs his human hand with her cybernetic one and pulls his hand away from the sniper rifle and pulls him away from the bed entirely, looking into his amber eyes. Not the blue ones he disguised himself with as some people are capable of.

“Talk to me.” She gently says. He looks away from her but she takes his cheek and makes him look at her, so then he should not feel ashamed for whatever he plans to do. So he tells her the truth.

“I found a lead on Ilia.” He says to her, and Yang sighs, closing her eyes and stepping away from him. She and Blake know about his hatred and it is warranted, and both know that if he does go through with this hunt for revenge he has, he might not come back the same man. He could become a monster; it could be just what Hyde needs to take full control.

“Kas...” She says to him.

“You wanted to know; now you do.” Kassius sharply says as he pulls his hand from hers and he sits down on the bed, setting the rifle down on his lap.

“Do you really think that killing her is going to fix anything?” Yang asks him honestly and he looks at her.

“Sorry, Yang, but this is not something you’re gonna talk me out of. You know the phrase – An Eye For An Eye, A Life For A Life?” Kassius asks her, and he leans forward with angered eyes. “She owes me three lives.” Kassius says to Yang, still thinking about his team and how she essentially fed them to the teeth of the Onyx Phantom. There is no stopping him, but she could help him – perhaps even change his mind along the way.

“I’ll go with you.” Yang tells him.

“No, I’m not risking your safety. Last time I dealt with her, I got three people killed. I will not let you be the fourth.” Kassius tells Yang, sounding selfless and even very cold about it as well. Like he would be fine if it ended with him being the fourth life being taken by Ilia Amitola.

“What if _you_ are that fourth life?” Yang inquires. He pauses but then he answers her question.

“You’d be fine without me – with your looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had another boyfriend by the end of the week.” He scoffs, sounding pretty harsh about it as well. Yang looks at him with disgust and she smacks him across the side of his face, and he recoils to the side. Normally, Hyde would have taken over, but he cares for Yang as well...and what he said was pretty uncalled for.

“How dare you.” Yang snarls. Kassius stands there and he looks at her. “How could you say that? Guys have clamoured for me in the past, sure, but I never gave up on you. I always had the idea in the back of my mind that we could be together again – because I _love you_.” She says to him, and it gets to Kassius...because of how he dated Vetra when Yang never gave up on him. He looks down at the floor, guilt passing over him. But Yang doesn’t ever bring Vetra up, because he didn’t know if he would have ever met her again. And that he is so wracked with grief and vengeance that she can’t blame him for what they had then – as long as he never gives up on her now. She then crouches down to him and holds his hands as she looks into his eyes again. “I’m with you to the end of the line, Kas.” Yang says to him with a toothless smile.

Kassius smiles at her. “What did I do to deserve you?” He chuckles.

“You were there for me, my sister, my father even...when no one else was.” She says to him. “You’re family, always will be.” She says as she kisses him gently on the lips, and Kassius holds her close as well. They press their foreheads close, and then she returns to the previous subject.

She looks at him. “How did you find out where she is?” Yang asks. Kassius sits back, and Yang takes a seat on the bed next to him.

“I overheard some White Fang guys talking in the hallway earlier, that said that they heard about where she was going.” He begins. “Apparently there’s this guy in Mistral, set up shop inside after it fell, calls himself _Blackjack_ and he has been offering services to those who find him, helping them disappear off the map. Many White Fang members have been doing it for some reason, and they said she is doing the same thing.” Kassius explains, and Yang nods with agreement.

“So she’s making a run for it?” Yang assumes.

“Seems like it – I don’t intend on her getting away.” Kassius says as he closes the rifle bag. She sits there, and then she touches his leg with her human hand and smiles.

“Then let’s go, we can talk to the Architect and convince him to open a portal there for us.” Yang says.

“He’s not gonna let us go there easily.” Kassius chuckles. Yang thinks, they need a convincing lie, and then something comes to mind.

“Well – our bikes are still at Mistral.” She says to him, remembering that they are still parked there.

 

**Weiss**

Weiss forms a glyph shield in front of herself as the bullets dart towards her and then she rolls backwards, taking refuge inside of the damaged building, holding Myrtenaster close to her chest. Neptune runs from his structure, his eyes widening when he sees a Seeker darting towards him and punching him in the centre of the chest, the speed of the soldier and the strength behind the punch throws him straight through the wall. The wall shatters like glass and he has a heavy tumble across the carpet. Neptune grabs his rifle on his back and points it directly at the Seeker, firing a charged round straight at him. The Seeker shoots to the side, avoiding the bullet as he moves. The Seeker immediately aims his Sub-Machine Gun at him and opens fire, a constant spray of dust bullets shooting towards the blue haired boy. “Come on! That’s just cheating!” He argues, rolling away to get behind the desk. He takes his sword and allows it to transform into the trident form, standing back up, spinning it through his fingers to block the bullets from hitting his aura.

Watts walks across the rooftop of the building he in on, his Magnums in hand, his green eyes fixed on where Weiss is taking cover. He turns to two soldiers next to him, new classes that have been created by Merlot’s sick scientific experiments. “Take her alive, we need her semblance.” Watts orders to them. One of them has extremely powerful looking gauntlets with coils inside, like gigantic speakers with dust flowing through the pipes in the Exo-Suit he wears. The other has the same type of dust flowing through his armour and he holds an Assault Rifle. There is a mechanism in the centre of his chest plate, one that must use the abilities given to him.

“What about the other kid?” The soldier asks him. Arthur smirks.

“Dead or alive – it matters not.” Watts tells them and they nod. One of the soldiers, the one with the huge gauntleted weapons, jumps down to one of the fractured buildings and he jumps, the power of his thrusters in his armour sends him sailing across the road of water beneath him. The other soldiers do the same. Weiss looks over, seeing the Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries making their way towards her position, and Neptune’s.

“Neptune! We’ve got bad guys coming!” She calls to him; Neptune is still fighting the Seeker right now.

“I noticed that!” He yells as he slashes his trident at the soldier as he sprints past him, a trail of orange dust behind him as he uses the enhancement. Weiss scoffs, then looking at one of the soldiers coming for her. She swings her sword at him, forming a Glyph that shoots shards of ice directly into his chest, knocking him out of the air. The Mercenary screams as he plummets into the water and is carried off into the current. One of them however has made it and he starts to shoot at her with his assault rifle. But when she goes to attack him, he grabs the mechanism and twists it round forcefully and dust charges and glows across his armour plating with a deep hum. Suddenly, he duplicates himself three times in a row, the original one has dust glowing cyan, the others in the row glow yellow, green and magenta as they all shoot at her. Weiss dives behind cover, her eyes widening when she recognises that ability.

_Killer Quartet!_

“That’s Flynt Coal’s semblance...” Weiss says to herself with horror in her voice, taking cover from all the bullets being shot at her. She looks at Myrtenaster and she sends the revolving canister inside spinning round to a red dust shard, giving her the ability to use fire. She rises up and spins Myrtenaster through her fingers before slamming it into the ground, blasting a cloud of flames towards the Quartet. The Cyan one, the real one, retreats and the other ones all follow him, merging back into him. Other soldiers have arrives and one of them holds an electric baton, swinging it directly at Weiss. Weiss deflects the baton with her blade, and then the revolving canister switches to a yellow dust shard, charging electricity through the blade. “That’s not nice! Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to hit a lady?” Weiss mockingly challenges, kicking the soldier hard in the leg with her heel. The man wails in pain, she then plunges the pointed blade into his chest, electrocuting him as well, before kicking him into the water. Weiss returns her attention to the Mercenary wearing the armour that mimics the Killer Quartet Semblance and he aims his assault rifle at her, firing rounds directly at her. She arches her arm back and points the tip of her sword at the soldier, shooting towards him with a shining Glyph beneath her feet. She smashes the sword straight into his chest, the blast from the impact sending him flying through the air with a scream before crashing into the wall. But he is not done yet, he engages the ability again and all four versions of himself stand tall, opening fire upon her.

She thinks back to the emerald forest a year ago, during the time she first met Ruby. The Beowulves, she can still do something that will take all four of the Quartet members out, but she will need to be fast, and she must wait for him to reload his gun, the others are only firing dust charged ones, all mimicking what he does. She hears the gunfire stop and he quickly ejects the magazine from the rifle and reaches to his pouch to pull the next one out. Weiss leaps from cover, switching the dust back to red so it uses flames and she swings the sword sideways, throwing a line of fire directly at him, hitting all four of them with force. The real one sets alight, screaming in pain as he staggers around before taking one wrong step and plummeting to his death in the water, clipping his face on one of the buildings.

Weiss looks down at where he fell. “Perfect form.” Weiss says with a smile, turning and walking away.

Neptune deflects the bullets and then he slashes the trident at the Seeker, but he avoids the attack and punches Neptune in the back, making him grunt in pain. He snarls in anger before turning round with speed, slamming the trident into the chest of the soldier so quick that his instincts were not fast enough. The Seeker crashes into the wall and he pulls himself out. “I hate these guys.” Neptune groans as he is already able to fight again, sprinting straight at him. Neptune rolls out of the way, narrowly missing the punch of the soldier. The soldier slows down and then darts jaggedly at him again. The Seeker manages to punch Neptune in the face, knocking him off his feet. Neptune slides across the floor and then presses his legs against the crashed car inside, pushing against it and launching himself across the floor again, swiping the Seeker off his feet, aiming for the backpack with his fist. He smashes his fist into the core in the backpack and there is a powerful explosion where the canister of which had detonated, a cloud of orange dust thrown into the air with red lightning strikes rising and spreading across the room. Neptune shakes his hand in pain, nearly breaking a finger from punching a metal thing that hard. But the Seeker is not done yet, just because he cannot use his speed, does not mean he is not dangerous. He grabs Neptune and throws him into the wall, punching him over and over in the side and the face.

Neptune yells, smashing his knee into the crotch of the Seeker, making him gasp in pain, collapsing to the floor. He then picks his rifle up and shoots him in the spine, killing him instantly. “Wow – didn’t think that was gonna work.” He chuckles as he walks away. But before he can even relax, the other new Class of Mercenary lands in the room he is in. The soldier’s Exo-Suit charges up and then he smashes his fist into the floor. There is a heavy bang with a perfunctory buzzing sound as the pistons smash down into the gauntlet, creating an extremely powerful quake.

Tremors are what these soldiers are called; they are able to use Seismic Powered Gauntlets in combat.

And by using it in this extremely damaged building, it has spread cracks across the ground. Neptune holds out his hands to remain balanced but it is not easy with the supports of the building starting to come loose, cracking and crumbling apart into little pieces beneath them, he then charges towards Neptune and he backs up. “Now, now – just hold on!” He attempts before he takes a punch to the chest by the Tremor, the impact sends Seismic Waves through his body, making his whole skeleton and muscles inside vibrate from the force. He screams as he is thrown through a building, landing inside of a completely different one. He looks up and sees Weiss fighting some other soldiers above him. She looks down and sees him there.

“Hi there!” She calls.

“Hey what’s up?” Neptune responds, getting back up.

“What’s on your mind?” She asks him.

“That guy.” Neptune answers as he points at the Tremor as he jumps inside. The Tremor wears a helmet with a glowing orange visor that is locked onto him and he immediately swings at him again, but this time he ducks to avoid it. But the swing sends the piston forward anyway, blasting a wave towards him with a bang, one he luckily avoided. Weiss keeps on protected herself from the soldiers across the way in the town, using her Glyphs to great effectiveness. Until a potential idea brushes into her mind as her eyes widen. Weiss closes her eyes after taking cover and she slams her blade down into the ground and begins to Summon the Giant Armour, her glyph forming on the cracked floor right now. It spins faster and faster, making the ground shake as she summons, and then the powerful pulse from its creation blasts bits of rubble away from them, actually making the Tremor and Neptune stagger from it. The glowing Giant Armour stands tall with the huge sword of light gripped in his hand. It kneels before her, bowing its head to her as if she is its queen.

Weiss points Myrtenaster at the men across the way from her. “Deal with them.” She orders. The Giant Armour rises up and then it jumps across the town, soaring across the town and landing before the soldiers. The Giant armour growls as it brings the powerful sword round with force, slicing across the soldiers, the impacts sending them into the air as he cuts them down. Weiss watches as the Giant Armour lays siege across the town from her, turning her attention to the Tremor that Neptune is fighting. Neptune kicks him in the side of the head, shooting his rifle over and over but the soldier has tough armour plating, he able to survive the attacks of his enemy with ease. The Tremor recoils back from the impact of the blue bolt of charged dust that has hit him in the shoulder, electricity coursing across the shoulder plate he wears. His gauntlet tightens into a fist and he punches at Neptune. Neptune rolls out of the way and slices the Trident as his rifle transforms across the Tremor’s back. The man inside roars with pain, staggering straight into the blade of Myrtenaster. The blade sinks into his chest, accurate enough to miss the armour plates around him. The blade protrudes out his back and he arches his fist back as he bleeds internally and externally to try and kill her before he dies. Until the Trident stabs into his back and they both activate the electrical dust that can be charged through their weapons. He bellows in pain, his cadaver shaking erratically as he cooks alive by the electricity being fed to his body like that. Eventually, the body crumples to the floor, charred from the burning and face crashing to the ground, blood leaking from his wounds. Weiss smiles and offers him a high five, opportunity that Neptune can never risk missing. Neptune slaps her hand and she gasps.

“Ow!” She squeals, grabbing her wrist, her palm red.

“I’m so sorry!” He apologises.

“How is it that hurts more than anything these guys have done?” She laughs with amazement.

“Maybe my high fives are my semblance.” He jokes, making her laugh from the idea of a high five being a semblance. They enjoy this moment of victory for as long as they can. Watts clenches his hand into a fist and he looks at the Giant Armour as it slaughters the other Mercenaries that have attacked. He whistles to his robots and they start to engage the Giant Armour, warping around with their weapons ready. Watts stands there with his hand crunching the other fist, cracking his neck.

“My turn.” Watts growls. He steps back and then runs extremely fast, taking a leap of faith, soaring over the water beneath him and he lands, rolling across the roof of another building, redrawing his Magnums. He rises up with his Magnums held tight, walking towards where they are. Weiss turns when she sees him in her peripheral vision, he stares straight at them both and a grin appears. “A pleasure to actually meet you personally, not when you tried to help the girl.” Watts chuckles with a smile.

“Where is she?” Weiss demands, pointing Myrtenaster at him and he points the barrel of his Magnum at her.

“Beyond your reach.” Watts promises, and Neptune clenches his hand into a fist as he stares at the moustache bearer.

“You should’ve never taken our friend.” Neptune says and Watts laughs monstrously.

“Believe me, I feel we should have killed the girl earlier instead of letting that Scorpion Psychopath be allowed to fuel his madness further. But – here we are.” Watts states as he holds his hands out.

Weiss’ eyes narrow with anger. “Yes...we are.” She says, forming a glyph beneath her feet that sends her flying towards him with a yell. He immediately shoots at her but she twirls through the air, kicking him in the side of the head, causing the doctor to stagger. He swiftly spins round and his magnums transform into a pair of knives as the grip folds back into a hilt and the barrel is pulled back and the blades connect together into the serrated blades, the revolving chamber remaining in there, and similar to Weiss’ blades, they can manipulate dust in combat. He can move quick as well, not as quick as Tyrian, but he is still a lethal opponent. Weiss begins to fall back into a defensive strategy against him as she uses the blade of Myrtenaster to deflect the blades as he slashes at her, jumping high in the air with them and slashing them across her aura. A white flash of energy ripples where she was hit but her aura is still strong. Weiss retreats back, giving Neptune the chance to go on the offensive, yelling as he slams the blade of his trident towards Watts. Watts holds both of the daggers high and uses them to deflect the blade of the Trident, before he sends his boot flying up into Neptune’s chest, punching him in the face afterwards as well.

Watts straightens his tie and clears his throat. “Impressive skills, the two of you.” He admits as he walks around them.

“Why are you helping Salem, Watts? What do you get out of it?” Weiss grills him with Myrtenaster pointed right at him.

“I simply believe the current bureaucracy of the world is rather pathetic, it requires revitalisation. Salem aims to change things, I will serve her proudly.” Watts tells them as he paces back and forth.

“You really think she is gonna do this to change the world? She wants to wipe Humanity and the Faunus out!” Neptune argues.

“Now that is where you are wrong, you all think of her this way, but you know little. She aims to start the world anew, and the Relics will offer that chance to her. No more war, no more extremists...under a rule where we have full control over what people do, there would be no more suffering.” Watts explains.

“Freedom is peace.” Weiss says as she stands there, and that makes Watts scoff and shake his head.

“You naive children.” He sighs. “Freedom does not bring peace – Freedom breeds chaos, just look at the White Fang. All this chaos for what they call equality, and yet they continue to slaughter humans in droves for their own beliefs. No...for there to be real peace, there must be a constant control over the people, and if that means controlling their minds...then so be it.” Watts explains, Weiss’ eyes widen.

“Merlot...” She gasps when she clocks onto what he is talking about. He really wants to control _everyone_ not just the Grimm or even the Faunus...he wants everyone to bow before him.

“At least you are fast at figuring these things out.” Watts chuckles. Even though they all have an idea of what Ruby’s part in all of this is, Weiss has an idea to try and trick him into telling her where her friend is.

“What has Ruby got to do with all this?” She questions, and Watts smiles.

“I know the game you are playing, dear Weiss.” He says to her, spinning his daggers through his fingers as he gets ready to fight them again. Weiss glowers and she and Neptune stand ready.

“Go!” Weiss shouts and they both attack him at the same time. He swings his knives at them, blocking both of their attacks with them pushing them away. The revolving chamber spins round and the red dust ignites flames around the curved blades, and he starts to attack, fire trailing behind the razor sharp blades. Neptune holds his trident up to stop the blades at Weiss darts towards Watts, smashing into him with force, knocking him back. She starts to get a few good hits in with Myrtenaster but when Watts kicks her in the chest, she falls to one knee, panting from exhaustion, a weakness of hers. She holds her hand to her chest to recover her strength, in the mean time, Neptune is busy fighting him. Watts ducks down to avoid the razor sharp, glowing blue blades of his trident. Neptune spins it round and transforms it into his rifle form, launching the glowing blue energy based projectile towards him. The round hits Watts in the chest and he slashes and slashes against him, cutting his aura down in each hit, until Watts grabs his arm and something happens.

Neptune watches as he sees small robotic things emerging from his sleeve and they start to electrocute his arm. Watts kicks him in the back of his leg and then jumps high in the air, spinning round with a roundhouse kick that sends Neptune into the floor with force. His Trident sliding across the floor. “Impressive moves, Neptune.” He chuckles. He reaches into his jacket pocket and he takes out a remote device and presses a red button, the robots start to electrocute him, putting him in immense pain. “Designed this myself.” He tells him. “They are able to use your own aura against you.” He chuckles, he screams in pain and Weiss gets back up, but before she gets close enough.

Something happens. Neptune’s eyes unexpectedly glow bright blue and so does his hair and he bursts up to his feet and thrusts his hands forward. Weiss watches in awe as a cloud of forked lightning bursts from the tips of his nails and into Watts, crackling across his entire body as he yells. He has unleashed his Semblance on Watts, he can manifest electricity through his body and use it as a weapon. Watts roars in pain, staggering backwards, and Neptune looks at her. “Go! While I can hold him there!” He tells her. Watts’ hand tenses as the electricity harms his muscles. Weiss nods and she charges towards Watts whilst Neptune holds him there with his beam of electricity, she can actually see his skeleton at times as the electricity flashes inside of the growling man. She now starts to slash away at him, wearing his aura down as she slashes. She forms a multitude of glyphs around the doctor and she leaps at one, and with tremendous speed she bounces around him, slicing across his aura, and after the fifteenth hit.

There is a deep orange flicker of energy around him. Before she can hit him again, she is punched in the face by something. One of the machines that he has built, different to those they have met before, unlike the Valerian Knights, these ones are more Steampunk-Esque. Smoke pouring from the pistons as it judders, grabbing Watts and pulling him towards a Bullhead that has arrived. Neptune releases him and collapses to one knee, Weiss putting her hands around him, staring up at him. Watts looks down at them as the Bullhead rises into the sky with him inside it. “We will meet again, Weiss Schnee! Count on it!” Watts roars, the door closes between him and her, and the vessel soars into the sky, leaving them behind.

Weiss watches as it leaves them both, before caressing his cheek, the electricity wearing off around him and he looks at her, his deep blue eyes no longer glowing. His hair no longer glows as well. “So that’s your semblance?” She asks with amazement.

“Yep...” He chuckles. “I used it during the Vytal Tournament through the Trident, and when I helped you earlier on.” Neptune says with a smile.

“Is that another reason you don’t like water?” Weiss asks, he sits there and pauses, and realises that it is a good point.

“Maybe.” He laughs. Weiss wraps her arm around him and kisses him lovingly on the lips, he holds her close as well. They break the kiss and he feels her arms connecting around his neck, and the cold metal of an amulet on his collarbone. His eyes widen and he looks down at it, lifting it up and seeing the family symbol on it. He then looks at her and smiles.

“Is that it?” Weiss asks him as she looks at the beautiful medallion. He touches her cheek and kisses her again and it catches her by surprise from how sudden the kiss was.

“That’s it.” He agrees with tears in his eyes, looking at it.

“You faced your fears, Nep.” She says to him affectionately. “They will always be with you now, I’m proud of you.” Weiss says to him with a smile. They hold each other close and he smiles.

“I never thought you would actually want me.” He says with a nervous laugh. She hugs him tight.

“How could I have resisted an idiot like you?” She asks with a giggle and he laughs, hugging her back. She releases him and looks into his eyes. “Come on, let’s get back to the others.” She says to him, but before they get up, she hears her scroll going off. She reaches into her dress and pulls it out, seeing Yang’s face on the screen. She answers it and holds it up to her ear.

“Yang?” She speaks.

“Guys! We’re in trouble!” Yang shrieks with gunfire erupting around her in the background, her eyes widening. But then they hear the phone being knocked from her hand, and someone else picks it up.

“Better hurry, Miss Schnee.” A chillingly familiar voice says.

Her eyes widen.

The voice belonged to the Spectre.

Meaning the Onyx Phantom cannot be far away.


	26. Blackjack

**Yang**

Two hours prior...

Yang walks with Kassius towards the Architect in the fortress that Raven has let them seek refuge in. Kassius has vengeance fuelling his mind, worrying Yang a great deal. Blonde and Brown, Lilac and Amber, the pair approach the metal man who has his arms crossed as he stands there. They repeat their ideas in their heads over and over again so then they can convince him, he is just a machine, they can be convinced...can’t they? Yang nods to Kassius and she steps in front of him, better at talking to people than he is. He has always been the best one for getting information out of people...forcefully.

The Architect looks at them both. “Architect, we need a favour.” She requests when approaching him. The Architect uncrosses his arms when looking at them.

“And that is?” The Architect asks her, tilting his metal head curiously.

“I know it sounds a little stupid, but our bikes are still left at Mistral, we’d like to go get them back.” She says to him, and the Architect says nothing for a few seconds, if he had a face, it would be probably filled with bewilderment at that request right now. One of the metal flaps above his triangular optic arches up like an eyebrow. He then finally speaks to her, and his response catches them off guard.

“Don’t take me for a fool, Yang, why do you really want to go?” The Architect questions, not buying the lies that she told, she groans and looks down at the floor, scuffing her boot against the tiling.

“I’m – I’m telling the truth.” Yang tries, attempting to convince him and she begins to stammer, making it clearer to the synthetic man that she is not telling him the full truth. Her plan has fallen to shambles. The Architect just shakes his head, not stupid enough to fall for that kind of rubbish.

“What do really aim to do when going there, Yang?” The Architect asks. Yang attempts to push the lie further, until she is interrupted by Kassius who chimes in.

“We have a lead on where Ilia is.” Kassius tells him and Yang is frozen mid-speech with her finger held up and mouth open. She turns and looks at him, her face turning to a frustrated frown. Kassius looks at her and shrugs. “We weren’t getting anywhere with lying.” Kassius tells her. The Architect has little reaction to it; he just looks at the boy with his glowing blue visor.

“We have more pressing matters at hand right now – and you aim to set out on some kind of personal vendetta?” The Architect questions.

“I’m not looking for your judgement of my decisions, Architect; I just need you to open a portal so we can get there.” Kassius explains, a little coldly as well from his tone of voice. The Architect stands there and then he walks towards Kassius, looking him dead in the eyes.

“You’re looking for Blackjack, aren’t you?” He asks them both, and Yang’s eyes widen when she hears him say that.

“You know of him?” Yang questions with surprise.

“I’ve heard enough stories.” The Architect tells them. “He’s been a thorn in the backside of Huntsmen for years; he works for the Acolytes of Lien.”

“Do you know exactly where to find him?” Kassius inquires, and the Architect takes a step backwards. The Architect chuckles at that question, dipping back with enthusiasm in his step. Kassius and Yang look at each other, amazed to see another machine with such personality.

“If I knew that, I’d have dealt with him myself.” He explains. “His last known sighting was in Vale but he seems to have moved to the remnants of Mistral to seek shelter. He has some pull in the Acolyte Network, has many armed Mercenaries on him. They weren’t all too great once, but I’m guessing they are much better now.” The Architect illustrates for them, and he does sound familiar. The Architect approaches a bag and he pulls it over to them and he opens it, pulling a datapad out and he flicks through it, walking towards them both. His metal index finger swipes through files and stops on a photograph.

He shows it to them both. “This was our latest sighting; some of our spies fed me this information.” The Architect explains. Yang’s eyes focus on the man who speaks to many Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries, all holding their firearms in their hands as they stand respectfully. His face is not seen but he wears a black suit and a white shirt underneath the tux. Yang looks at Kassius and he glares at the screen, a faint glimmer of red in his amber eyes where Hyde is trying to take over. But when both notice the huge lilac eyes of Yang Xiao Long, he recedes. Her beauty seems to be able to calm the beast that exists within him. Yang now looks at the place of interest, lots and lots of shipping crates with the Schnee Dust Company Symbol pasted upon the metal. It all seems...very familiar...just like when they fought Roman Torchwick. Yang’s eyes then focus on the hat of the wearer.

It is – _very ­_ – similar to the hat that he wore.

_Impossible! Just impossible, he was swallowed whole by a Griffin, and then exploded in a ship that crashed into Vale. Torchwick is dead._

Yang then looks at the Architect. “My contacts tell me that he is still working out of the Foundry District of Mistral, if you’re quick you can catch him and figure out what he knows about your friend.” He explains to them both, leading to a harsh scoff from Kassius at the very idea of her being his friend.

“So...will you take us there?” Yang asks him curiously. The mechanised man takes a step back, the dust in his chassis glows deep blue and electrical forks of blue heated knives of light erupt from his metal finger tips. They spark and form a blue portal before them both, black in the centre; they both look at him gratefully.

“Go on, and stay in contact.” The Architect advises as he walks away from them. Yang looks at Kassius and she nods, stepping into the portal first. The portal swirls and swirls within itself, feeling their organs stretching and squeezing as they pass through the dimensions to get to their chosen location. The smell of smoke still fills the air after Fury’s siege across the districts during the fall. The battle scars are still here, and Yang walks forward, her foot stepping onto a puddle. Her eyes widen when she sees what she stepped in.

A tattered old poster of Pyrrha Nikos, drenched in water, her once beautiful face smudged to pieces and the paper torn apart. Yang takes her boot away from her face and she walks away from it, following Kassius as he walks with his cybernetic fist still clenched, his eyes angry. His hunt for revenge is making him pretty intimidating, even to Yang. They both observe the area that they are at, the destruction is haunting, the city was once full of civilians. Now it is completely abandoned with their cadavers lying across the streets where they fell. The chill of their spirits resides here; perhaps even Geists are around here somewhere. There are buildings completely collapsed from where Haven academy fell between the two towers, pieces of it crushing the buildings beneath it. “This is – terrible.” Yang gasps as she looks at the destruction, but she just watches Kassius as he continues to walk onwards.

This is all something he has seen before.

He has grown cold to it all, unfortunately.

Yang sighs as she follows him, following him wherever he would go. Yang walks over to his right shoulder, looking up at him as he walks. “Was it this bad at Vytal?” Yang asks him gently, and his eyes open from their previous scowling phase.

“Huh?” He blurts, turning his head to the beautiful blonde girl beside him.

“You said that Vytal was lost to the Grimm...was it this bad?” Yang asks him. He pauses and he closes his eyes, still hearing the screeches of the Grimm Terror Bird that attacked him, giving him hundreds of scars on his young body. But he shakes his head.

“This is worse.” He assures.

“How so?” Yang asks.

“Because Vytal was only an island, this was a massive city, more people inside. Now it is dead silent...I don’t know if I will ever get used to the silence of a fallen Kingdom.” Kassius tells Yang with a shudder, hearing his voice echo through the streets. As Yang walks, she notices the market stands where she managed to woo the criminal named Sidewinder into helping Weiss change her identity. Using her looks like a weapon, like a semblance, not like it matters anymore. The plan to change Weiss’ identity failed miserably as Jacques was already two steps ahead of her, just like the Knights of Grimm seem to be. Even ahead of Salem right now, taking over her leadership...they are making one hell of an effort to destroy Remnant. Even fracturing the initial enemy alliance. Yang walks over to him and she holds his hand as they walk, resting her head against his shoulder and his heart warms. Somehow she has always been able to calm him, keep Mr Hyde at bay. Even when he took him over to speak to her, he could not ever hurt her.

Perhaps Hyde just wants his own individuality.

A strange kind of love triangle, all surrounding the body of one man. Yang and Kassius walk for a few more minutes, just with each other’s company, but they both stop when hearing the grinding roar of industrial equipment being used nearby. They crouch down and they approach one of the buildings, peering round the corner. They get a good look at the operation; many Acolytes of Lien are down there, assisting with the movement of crates onto a landed Dropship with the Acolytes of Lien colour scheme covering its metal hide. Armed to the teeth and standing their ground, but they are too far away to recognise the voices, until the voice of an individual is near. “Well, well...look what we have here.” A man says, and they both turn with wide eyes, seeing a man who wears the identical clothes of Blackjack, black and red suit and trousers with a hat on his head. He crosses his arms with two bulky men with pistols holstered. Yang stares them in the eyes, the leader of the trio to be certain. However, he is not exactly...threatening. The man must be a few years older than her, no facial hair and more freckles on his face that a Spotted Gecko. He is also extremely skinny, looks shorter than in the picture.

“Blackjack?” Yang infers cautiously with a slightly tilted head and an arched eyebrow. “You’re not quite how I imagined a man of your reputation.” Yang says to him with a slight giggle behind her heated voice, Kassius stands there with his arms crossed, letting her speak for now, ready to entre when needed to turn up the heat.

“Looks – can be decei-ving.” The man slowly responds with a stutter in his voice. His brutish buddies grab their pistols and they pull them from their holsters, turning the safeties off, a point Kassius does not miss out. The man smirks, feeling confident with his chances, but what he has forgotten is that a few thugs are not going to stop two lethally trained Hunters. “So, which one of you would like to disappear?” He asks them, keeping up to the job that Blackjack seems to offer to those with Lien available for the service. Then Kassius decides to jump in.

“I’d rather see you make someone _reappear_.” He tells him, making the man shake and sweat begin to bead from his forehead.

“Ah...that’s not really the service we provide.” Blackjack says to him. Kassius’ cybernetic hand clenches into a fist and Vulcan Nox shifts round to prepare to fire, loading a round into the chamber, flashing green.

“Make an exception.” Kassius requests, pointing the Gauntlet straight at the little man. Yang looks at him, seeing the flicker of red in his irises. “Just this once.” He adds, making Blackjack yelp like a little girl with fear, turning to the two men behind him with terrified eyes.

“Damn it! Quick! Shoot them! Shoot them you lumbering –!” He begs. But before he can add the word _idiot_ to his repertoire, Yang and Kassius both point their ranged weapons at them, firing rounds straight into their shirtless bodies, knocking the mercenaries to the floor with holes in their bodies. Orange smoke leaking from Ember Celica and Vulcan Nox, then they both point them at the Gangster.

“Oh dear, too slow.” Yang sighs with a tut. Blackjack sighs, shrugging his shoulders when looking at the dead Mercenaries on the floor.

“Why do I even bother?” Blackjack groans, shaking his head with annoyance, despite the guns to his head. Yang then walks towards him and grabs him by the collar, lifting the small man off the floor as she stares into his eyes.

“We’re looking for someone, a client of yours.” Yang whispers into his ear with angered eyes. Then he reveals the truth.

“Not mine! I’m not Blackjack! I just work for him – a cover – sort of.” He admits with his hands held up. Yang looks at him with an unsurprised face, dropping him back to the floor, looking at Kassius as he deactivates Vulcan Nox with the upwards thrust of his hand, the barrels slotting back into the forearm, plates of metal closing up around it, cogs swirling back into place.

“I knew it.” She says to Kassius. Kassius looks from Yang to the fake and he walks over to where he is sat, crouching down to stare him in the eyes, scaring him.

“Then maybe you’d like to tell us where to find him.” Kassius states, more like a demand than a choice.

“Ye-Yes.” He stutters with fear as he looks at the Huntsman. “Of course.” He agrees. “He’s in the foundry district down there with the other Mercs, currently at the old Prefab Foundry itself.” He explains, giving them very useful information. Kassius looks up at Yang who stands next to him, her hand on her hip, looking down at him and the Fake Blackjack.

“I know the building.” Kassius assures.

“Oh he’s got a lot of Mercenaries down there, Acolytes of Lien; they have improved their skills since that Huntress attacked him at his bar. Hei Xiong Junior has become more dangerous since Vale’s fall.” He explains, and the very mention of that name makes her eyes widen and an audible gasp escape her lips.

“Junior?” She questions with wide eyes, and Kassius looks at her, noticing that she knows that name.

“You know him?” Kassius asks her.

“I guess you could call him an old friend.” Yang answers.

“Yang – what did you do?” Kassius asks her suspiciously, able to see through her excuses.

“Crushed his balls, destroyed his nightclub and interrogated him.” Yang explains and Kassius groans, grabbing the bridge of his nose with his hand, shaking his head.

“So _enemies_ is the better word?” Kassius asks her.

“Yeah, whatever.” Yang shrugs. She then looks at the doppelganger and she approaches him. “How the hell did Junior rise up to this point?” Yang questions as she stares down at the man on the floor.

“Well – he has always been a part of the Mercenary Group, but they had been suffering with funds at that time. Mercenaries came cheap with little to no combat experience, his nightclub was not getting any money in for the organisation and with Torchwick going around and causing chaos, it made it harder. But when Jacques Schnee came along and offered more funds to the group, he was able to become more than what he was, now he handles the shipment of resources with his soldiers and making individuals disappear with the White Ursa technology, and thus Blackjack was born! So to speak.” The Doppelganger explains to them both.

“Interesting, but this changes nothing, we still need to get to Junior before we can get to Ilia.” Kassius says to her and Yang nods with a smile which still manages to warm his heart.

“Well let’s go pay old Junior a visit.” Yang says to him and Kassius smiles back.

“We can get to the foundry pretty quick; from there we should plan our attack. These guys are essentially Hunters who hunt Huntsmen and Huntresses.” Kassius explains. Whilst they convey their plan to each other, the Doppelganger is still just sat there.

“So I uh – I can go?” He asks them, getting their attention. Kassius shrugs his shoulders.

“Sure, but if we don’t find Junior, we’ll be back for you.” Kassius says as he points Vulcan Nox at him, Yang also points Ember Celica at him as well at the same time, making him jump.

“Oh...good...” He stammers as he starts to make a break for it. They both disengage their handcrafted weapons and they turn to each other.

“Come on, Yang – we’ve gotta hurry.” Kassius ushers as they both make their way towards the Foundry District.

 

They both move up and there are huge cranes lifting the crates onto boats on the water, the harbour was not within eyeshot from where they were. Other crates being loaded into Dropships that roars into the skies. Kassius looks at them and there is the unmistakable symbol of the Schnee Dust Company on the side of the hull. “Damn, Jacques is up to something.” Kassius says to her. Yang’s eyes follow the aircraft and then she rests her head back against the concrete wall that they are against. She turns to look at the man she loves and he is observing the terrain like a sniper, the rifle still on his shoulder, and he is watching the terrain with a frighteningly stern look in his eyes. He needs to be careful, if he lets his anger get too strong, Mr Hyde could take him over despite Yang being next to him right now.

“Kas?” She whispers to him and he looks at her.

“Yeah?” He responds.

“You seem to be getting tense, Kas.” Yang says to him and he still looks at her kindly.

“I’m in no mood for this asshole’s games. If he tries me I will beat him within an inch of his life.” Kassius snarls with anger as he watches the Mercenaries at the Foundry district.

“Thank you for proving my point.” Yang sighs.

“Junior might know why Ilia wanted to disappear, if so he knows why we’re both here and I don’t want him to tip her off.” Kassius explains to her. Yang smiles and she nods to him and he continues to examine the area for any signs of a clue. There is a sniper on the crane and Kassius notices him looking in their direction. He puts his hand to her back gently and he pushes her down as he lowers down.

“What?” Yang whispers.

“Sniper on the Crane.” Kassius tells her.

“Great.” Yang sighs, she then peers through a gap in the wall and one of barricades, seeing that there are some supports weak enough for her to take out with her weapons that she wields. “I could take the Crane down; the crate attached could take some other bad guys out with it.” Yang tells him.

“Nice thinking.” Kassius says to her with a smile. Yang now decides to get a little deeper into her concerns for the man she loves.

“What are you gonna do to Junior?” Yang asks him curiously.

“Well – now we know he is an Acolyte of Lien, we should kill him on sight. But we need him alive, so I won’t do any permanent damage, just enough to loosen his tongue.” Kassius explains and Yang smirks at a memory.

“Go for the balls, that always gets him talking.” Yang promises.

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Kassius chuckles. Yang has a question on her mind, cautious to ask him, but she trusts him, so she asks it.

“Are you still certain that you want to kill Ilia?” Yang asks.

“That’s the plan – it’ll be quick and painless, which is more than what that bitch deserves after what she did – letting my team suffer slower deaths than a bullet to the head.” He growls with anger, his fist tightening aggressively at the very mention of her name whenever she brings it up. “It’s more than she deserves, but after that, I’ll be satisfied.” Kassius says to Yang.

“Satisfied?” Yang questions with a crooked eyebrow.

“I know you don’t like it, Yang – she’s an old friend of Blake’s, I know...but I have to do this.” Kassius says to her with a sigh, sounding certain of her fate in his amber eyes.

“Is there no other way?” Yang asks him.

“Maybe, but this is personal. I’ll pull the trigger and I will live with the consequences, since you’re insistent on helping, all I ask is that you help me.” Kassius says to her. Yang now decides to take her attention off Ilia and her concerns, and returns it to the current matter at hand. The Acolytes of Lien in the Foundry District ahead of them both.

“What do you think Junior’s got waiting for us in there?” Yang inquires.

“Dunno, it’s an industrial complex and that means that there is a lot of machinery. Lots of strategic cover for them to use, could be anything waiting for us down there. If I know our luck, there’s probably a tank.” He scoffs.

“Come on, don’t jinx us.” Yang says. Kassius peers round the corner and then he looks at her, they need to get to Junior before things get out of hand.

“You ready?” He asks her.

“Hell yeah.” Yang says with a smirk. They both burst from cover and they charge towards the district, the Sniper turns around and he aims at them, firing a round straight at them. Yang pumps Ember Celica, loading a rocket into the weapon and she swings her fist at the supports, blasting an orange missile directly into the rusted crane support beneath it. The rocket crashes into the metal and explodes violently in a cloud of orange and red flames, sending ignited shards of metal bouncing across the area. The crane groans, and the sniper wails as he plummets from it as it begins to tip over, crashing down with a heavy crash, shattering the ground and smashing the crate down on the heads of three armed Mercenaries, silencing them in one swift motion. The sniper bounces on the floor, killed instantly from the fall itself. Huge chunks of metal slide and roll across the floor as the crane crashes, spreading cracks across the tarmac.

Junior walks across the area and he turns, his eyes widen in shock when he sees the explosion and the crane collapsing. Flames billow from the point of which Yang blew the support up. Yang walks towards him with her hands next to her hips, walking with a beautiful sway as she did once before, her long golden blonde hair blows in the wind as she walks with Kassius beside her with Lash Equinox in his hands. Yang holds her hands out with a smile. “Guess whose back?” She asks them, her smile glowing bright with joyful excitement. Junior stands with disbelief and he turns to the Seekers beside him.

“Blondie?” Junior says with disbelief, his eyes wide. Yang smiles as she waves to him. He looks at the two Seekers at his shoulders. “What are you waiting for, stop them! Stop them!” He orders and the Seekers nod, grabbing their helmets and fitting them on, connecting the dust tubes there, powering the suits up. They both jump down as their suits charge up and Kassius glares at him as he attempts to run.

“Run all you want, Junior! We’ll find you!” He bellows with hatred in his voice, red energy fluctuating in his amber eyes. The two Seekers crack their necks, suddenly darting towards them. One goes for Yang, the other goes for Kassius. Yang takes a punch to the face, being launched into the air and she yelps ion pain from the punch. The Seeker appears behind her and kicks her in the back with force, sending her flying and tumbling across the ground. She stares straight at the Seeker and he holds his Sub-Machine Gun in one hand.

“Hey there, pretty lady.” The Seeker greets, his voice transformed in the helmet to become a similar sounding voice as the Onyx Phantom has, at least the male one did. Yang holds up her fists, ready to fight him and the Seeker sprints at her again, the trail of orange dust being carried behind him, and Yang rolls out of the way, narrowly managing to dodge him as he warps past her. He slows down and starts to fire his gun at her. Yang yells, firing Ember Celica over and over at the man, launching the rockets towards him with extreme prejudice. The rockets screech as they soar across the sky towards the soldier. The Seeker zooms out of the way and the explosions send chunks of concrete flying into the air. The Seeker sprints at her again but this time she manages to punch him in the head, knocking him off his feet and causing him to clatter onto the floor, his armour scraping across the tarmac.

Kassius throws himself into the air to avoid the darting punch of the Seeker and he immediately lifts his cybernetic arm up, using the thick metal plates around his forearm and elbow to deflect the bullets from his Sub-Machine gun. Vulcan Nox shifts into position to shoot and he punches at the Seeker, firing a round in the process, the velocity of the punch sends the bullet faster and it narrowly misses the Seeker. The Seeker sprints at him and hits him in the spine. Kassius roars in pain from where he was punched and red light fuels into his eyes, holding his swords tight as he spins around and slashes them towards the Seeker. The Seeker that charges towards him drops down to narrowly dodge the blade as he swings it. But Kassius stamps down on his leg, smashing his fist into the dust charged backpack, crushing the canister inside. The Seeker screams in pain as it explodes and the visors shatter from the blast, chunks of metal thrown across the area. He then throws his sword in the air and catches it, slamming it straight through the Seeker’s back and out his chest, blood spilling from the wound. The Seeker groans in pain and falls to the floor.

Yang punches the Seeker over and over in the face, damaging the armour he wears further and further, blowing pieces of metal off and she throws fire with every punch, shooting the shotgun gauntlets with every blow. She finally takes both clenched fists and sends them into his chest, blasting straight through him, bursting the backpack. The Seeker screams in pain, thrown into the air, to be finished off by Yang arching her fist up above his face. She smirks, giving him a wink before sending her fist into his head, crashing him into the tarmac with enough force to leave a crater.

They both turn when they see some more soldiers appearing with guns raised, opening fire on them. One of them holds a Bazooka and launches the missile straight at them. Yang and Kassius both dive out of the way before the rocket hits them. There is one soldier with a machine gun, unleashing a wave of bullets on them. He yells like an animal as he opens fire, his finger pulled all the way back on the trigger, his teeth gritted with furious eyes. Yang sprints as fast as she can to avoid the bullets and she bends her legs before jumping, running across the wall and then using the recoil of Ember Celica to throw herself at one of the soldiers. She punches the soldier straight in the head with her metal fist, smashing his head into the ground so hard that cracks are sent up across the ground, dust spurting from the fissures made.

Kassius remains behind the metal crate as the Minigun Carrying Soldier continues to shoot at him. And then, he has an idea. His eyes focus on an old motorcycle, not his one, but one that has been left here. He grabs the motorcycle with his metal hand and he swings round the corner, throwing the vehicle right at the soldier, hitting him directly, causing him to be thrown across the floor. The other soldiers keep on shooting at them and Kassius charges towards them, deflecting bullets with the blades of Lash Equinox. The thrusters in his suit of armour blast downwards and the thrust shoots him into the air. He throws his sword into the chest of a soldier, cutting so deep that it sticks him into the floor, his blood trickling down the blade. Kassius immediately grabs the hilt, tearing it from the chest of the soldier and Yang runs towards him, rolling across his back to punch another soldier right in the head and shooting the other in the chest.

Kassius deflects a bullet from the soldier and cuts one of their arms off, blood spraying from the screaming man’s amputation. Kassius locks onto the shooter and throws Lash Equinox yet again, landing it in the sternum of the soldier and he falls to his knees. Kassius runs and jumps onto his chest, pulling the blade from him as he hits him there. Yang grabs a soldier by the throat and throws him with anger into another soldier. Kassius manages to cut a bullet in half before it could hit him and he points Vulcan Nox at the face of the shooter, firing a bullet through his eye, causing him to twitch and collapse.

Kassius spins Lash Equinox through his fingers before flicking them downwards and returning them to the magnetic strips on his legs, smirking at Yang as they finish them off. Yang flicks her hair back and smiles like a graceful princess at her partner and they walk over to each other. “Come on, let’s go find Junior.” Kassius says to her.

“Romantic stuff later?” Yang asks.

“You know it.” He assures with a wink.

Kassius looks around after finishing the two Seekers off; the other Mercenaries have fled, using the Dropships and the Vessel itself to escape with what they could get their hands on. They both nod to each other and they look at the office where Junior fled, and they both start to run after him. Kassius kicks the locked door down with force, entering before Yang with his two Swords held tight as they make their entrance. Inside is Junior, locking a door behind him, and then looking at them both as they stand there. Backed into a corner, he has nowhere left to run and he knows it.

He holds his hands up to the sides of his head and he backs up as Yang and Kassius walk towards him, Junior eyes a buzz saw on a wooden table as a possible weapon, but before he does, Kassius grabs him by the neck. “I don’t think so.” Kassius growls, forcing him against the wall aggressively, staring directly into his eyes and Junior looks terrified. “So – Blackjack, couldn’t make yourself disappear, huh?” Kassius asks him with a smirk.

“Who the heck are you?” Junior questions with fear, holding the metal arm that is pressed against his neck. Yang walks over to Kassius’ side, placing her arm on his shoulder with a smile.

“He’s a friend.” She says with a smirk, not stating their relationship to keep each other safe. If he has become dangerous, they do not want to make that a risk.

“Blondie...I’ve always helped you out, what do you need?” Junior asks them and Yang pats his shoulder to relax. He takes his cybernetic arm away from Junior’s neck and he walks around, the man catches his breath as he stands there. Kassius stands to the window and then looks over his shoulder at him.

“I’m looking for someone.” Kassius says. Junior wipes the dust from his hands and cracks his neck.

“Well I guess we both have something the other one wants.” Junior cockily says the worst thing to say to Kassius as well. Kassius scowls sternfully and he turns to him, and smashes his metal fist directly into his crotch, making him squeal like a little girl, crumpling to his knees with his hands on his genitals. Yang actually flinches from that punch.

“Ouch, that had to hurt.” She giggles.

“We’re not here to ask favours, Hei.” Kassius growls as he limps back up, wheezing in pain.

“You don’t say.” He whimpers in agony.

Kassius manages to get back onto the subject at hand so fast that it nearly seems scripted. “You helped a friend of mine disappear, I need to find her.” Kassius states and Junior looks at him for advice.

“I’m gonna need – a little bit more information that that, pal.” Junior tells him with squinted eyes, still suffering from the crotch punch.

“Her name is Ilia Amitola, a Faunus, part of the White Fang.” Kassius explains, remembering every detail of her off by heart, but not in the kind way. In the way a hunter knows every single detail of his game.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know who she is and I ain’t telling you squat!” Junior argues, testing his patience.

“Junior, this doesn’t have to be difficult.” Yang says to him with a shrug.

“Screw you, Blondie. Every time you show up, everything goes to hell. I don’t give out client information, it’s bad for business.” Junior says to him, and he never expected Kassius to throw his knee up into his chest and to throw him onto the floor, stamping down on his throat. Kassius pushes his whole body weight down onto the throat of the thug, staring straight into his eyes as he chokes.

“Do you know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!” Kassius barks with rage as he gets ready to twist his foot round, to snap his neck.

Junior struggles, holding his boot and Kassius holds him there until he cooperates. “Alright, alright!” Junior agrees with a strained voice. But Kassius is not so willing to release him, his eyes glowing faintly with a red hue, anger filling his veins as they faintly glow volcanically. Yang touches his shoulder and gently pulls him away from Junior so then he can breathe again.

“He’s no use to us dead.” Yang whispers into his ear and he exhales. Junior sits up and looks up at Yang.

“Beacon’s fall really changed you, huh Blondie?” He chuckles.

Yang glares at him. “It definitely opened my eyes, now arrange the meeting!” Yang demands as he gets up. He looks at her and she glares at him as they stand there. He sighs.

“I’m going.” He agrees, finally. He limps over to the console in the corner and he opens it up to a secure channel, speaking to her.

“Hello?” Her voice comes through, sounding nervous. He clearly is using an I.D Disguiser since she has no idea of who he is at first. “Who is this?” Ilia asks, sounding extremely nervous in fact.

“It’s _Blackjack_ , now listen carefully. You’re identification has been compromised.” He explains and the fear can be felt from her silence.

Until she speaks again. “Can you fix it?” She asks nervously.

“That’s why I’m calling. I’m sending an agent out to Mistral, where’d you like to meet her?”  Junior asks her. Ilia remains quiet for a couple of moments, but she finally responds.

“The Market District.” Ilia answers.

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ve got it covered.” Junior assures as he ends the call and turns to them. “It’s all good, she’s gonna meet you at the Market District today.” He tells them both, but they did not notice a very important detail at the time.

Under the terminal.

Was a gun.

“It’s a shame that you’re not gonna be the one to see her.” He says, causing their eyes to widen. He suddenly points the gun straight at Yang, loaded with Anti-Aura rounds that are manufactured by Merlot Industries, made from the same materials as Wilt and Blush’s blade. He pulls the trigger and the bullet hits Yang in the shoulder and she cries out in pain, blood squirting out from her shoulder, staggering back.

He sees her stagger, and Kassius feels his veins ignite with rage. Mr Hyde’s roar of rage grows and grows and Kassius’ veins glow red, his skin cracking like magma as he becomes volcanic with anger. He punches the gun from his hand and grabs Junior by the throat, lifting him off the floor and slamming him on the table with the buzz saw. “You dare hurt her?” Mr Hyde bellows with pure hatred in his voice, the cybernetic hand keeping his head on the wood, the other on the saw blade, turning it on and the blade spins round with a loud roar. He holds his head down and starts to slowly move the saw blade closer...

...and closer...

...and closer.

Yang’s eyes widen and she runs to Kassius’ side, seeing that Hyde has taken over his mind. She grabs his shoulder and looks into his eyes, holding her shoulder with pain. The heat from Kassius’ animosity can be felt against Yang’s skin, and Junior wails in terror, begging him to stop, pleading his apologies for trying to kill her.

The blade is getting closer and closer.

Yang grabs his face. “Hyde...stop...you don’t want to do this.” Yang whispers to him, remembering what Kassius told her. That if he takes over you must call him Mr Hyde, not Kassius. Because it is not _him_ in there, it is _Hyde_.

“He shot you! Hurt you! He must die!” Hyde roars, his demonic voice echoing over the other voices inside, faintly Kassius’ voice can be heard amongst the others.

“I’m sorry!” Junior screams.

“Hyde – please don’t do this, for me. Stop for me.” Yang begs as she looks into his eyes, Kassius’ face is contorted with anger, teeth grit and the blade still gets closer and closer. The blade starts to cut against his hair and he wails louder, Mr Hyde causes Kassius to start screaming with anger.

But then...

Junior says something that stuns them, stuns Hyde into releasing Kassius instantly.

“I know where Ruby is!” He shouts.

Silence fills the room, Yang’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“What?”


	27. Venator Spectris

**Ren**

“I miss pancakes.” Nora moans as she stands next to Ren as they walk. Ren and Qrow both simultaneously grab the bridges of their noses when they hear her say those words. The name _pancake_ has been forever scalded into Ren’s brain as a symbol for Nora now. Qrow then looks at Ren.

“Has she always been like this?” Qrow asks him.

“Yep.” Ren answers as they continue to walk down the monotonous catacombs of the Library. Webs and other wildlife scurrying in the darkness and the dust dunes that have formed. A lizard darts past Nora as her belly growls like some kind of primal beast that skulks in the shadows, waiting to pounce on its prey. Only to be the hungry tummy of one Valkyrie.

“Do you eat anything other than pancakes?” Qrow asks her curiously.

“Yeah – but Ren makes the best pancakes.” Nora answers as she walks. Qrow looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You need to cook us some pancakes some time, I’ll be the judge.” Qrow says as he looks at her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nora interrogates accusingly, her hands on her hips.

“I mean have someone who is not devoted to Ren in every single way be the judge.” Qrow states truthfully and Nora looks down at the floor, thinking of an answer. She then looks at him, her head moving up so quick her body nearly leapt in the air.

“Nope!” She squeaks and Qrow groans.

Ahead of them, leading the team, is Kragen still. His staff held tight in his hand as he walks, and he looks at Winter when she approaches his side with her sword in her hand. She clearly has something on her mind and he can see that as clearly as she displays it. “Something on your mind, Winter?” Kragen inquires, looking forward after asking her.

“Yeah...” She starts off and he prepares to listen to whatever it is she has to say. But he does not stop walking, the constant sound of him tapping the end of his staff into the floor echoes through the halls, Raven walks between the rest of them with her helmet on and hand still on the hilt, ready for whatever that could pounce from the walls at them.

“Well go on then, you have my attention.” Kragen assures.

“Qrow told me some of the things you told him – about the Knights.” She begins. “You said that they have had many different identities over the years?” She asks.

“Yes, they have indeed. From the _Wild Hunt_ to the _Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse_.” Kragen recites.

“They were wrong, though?” Winter guesses.

“That they were, simply because over the years they have been pinned as many mythological beings to act a symbol of fear. But generations of stories, the facts change into fiction.” He explains. “The Wild Hunt for example were not five Knights, they were a ghostly or supernatural group of [huntsmen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting) passing in wild pursuit.” Kragen explains to her, before moving onto the other one. “And the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were symbols of extinction: Death, Famine, Pestilence and War...there were five Knights, four now yes, but once five. Death is the only one that is similar to this and Fury is close to War...but that is it. Death, Fear, Loss, Vengeance and Fury...the Five Knights, not the four.” Kragen clarifies for the older Schnee girl. Winter then looks at one of the last relics of the Arkhoni Era.

“What did your people call them? You know – before it all fell apart?” Winter inquires.

“We knew what they were – souls that were corrupted by the weapons that they carried. Turned into monsters that would haunt the entire world from their presence alone. But they were once people, and people have soft spots in their pasts. That is why we are looking for these books, their memories are stored here, if we can find a specific memory around one of them that can make them question their own existence as a Knight, then it should be enough to let them rest in peace.” Kragen illustrates as he walks, and Winter scoffs.

“Rest in Peace?” She questions, and he looks at her.

“They are suffering their own ways right now – they do what they do because they have no other choice. Like it is their duty, whatever was cursing those weapons placed this sense of responsibility in them, we must pry through their forms and find the person within and give them closure. They are spectres at the end of the day; a spectre is simply a soul who cannot rest due to unfinished business.” Kragen explains, walking ahead of her, leaving her with these thoughts. And the main question in her mind as a Schnee.

_What happened to Starla?_

They continue down and the Silver Eyed Warrior approaches another door and he pushes his hand against the thick wooden door. It creaks as slowly squeaks open and they walk into the large room. Old seats inside, like some kind of church building. Some sort of shrine held up before them all, one that is huge. A Knight with his sword in the ground, but it predates the Knights, it is extremely old. There are skeletons left in here, dust and webbing coating their hollow remains where they fell. And – recently killed bodies as well. Acolytes of Lien in front of the Shrine and their eyes widen. “Looks like we’re not the first ones here.” Raven says, looking at one of the corpses at the door, an arrow has been lodged into his spine, blood still trickling down his back. His face looks alive with terror as he died.

“This is very recent.” Ren says, crouching down to examine the wound. “This happened around fifteen minutes of less ago.” Ren predicts as he feels the warmth in the corpse.

“What is this place?” Nora asks Kragen.

“Looks like a Temple.” Qrow suggests when he looks at the Church-Like architecture that surrounds them. The skeletons still have their clothes wrapped around their abandoned bodies where they fell. _Who knows what killed them?_ Some have holes that have broken their ribcage into little pieces, like something shot them...or crushed them. All in the same places died the same way. Got their ribs crushed inwards by something.

“I know who these people are – this is a bad place.” Kragen says, sounding shaky in his tone.

“Why?” Nora questions, sounding more afraid now. If Kragen is nervous about something, then it is serious.

“These people were called the Congregation of Dawn; they were the reason for our downfall. Corrupted our people from within with their ideals, trying to rid the world of all people with Semblances or else there would be punishment.” Kragen explains as he sees the symbol on one of their shirts. A red cross, wearing old tattered white robes around the skeleton’s body.

“Punishment?” Raven pries with a step forward, looking around the area as a cold chill begins to set in around them. Something is here; they are definitely not alone in this place.

“They believed that the gods would unleash an event that would wipe all life out as punishment for not heeding their calls. Many believed them – some tried to oppose. And before we knew it, we had a war on our hands.” He explains with anger in his tone, a man who detests war greatly, and seeing these people again must make him angry. Qrow scoffs as he shakes his head.

“Every civilisation has it’s traitors.” He chuckles. Ren listens carefully, looking around when he hears something moving around in the bricks, a faint raspy snarl moving above him, his hairs standing on end and causing Goosebumps to form. He looks at Nora and he simply picks Stormflower up as he walks around. She immediately nods, trusting his instincts, and she readies Magnhild in her hands. The older ones look at him.

“Ren? What is it?” Winter asks him. The rasping continues.

“We’re not alone in here...something is here.” He whispers.

Kragen looks over his shoulder when he senses the presence as well. A howling, whispery sound emerges from one of the walls and a dark mass emerges, the bone like floating pieces of armour around the shadows, arms held out and no legs shown. The head is like a mask with a single eye. A Geist with no possessed form, it flies across the ground, using its hands to move across the terrain with further ease. “Geist!” Raven calls out, drawing her blade as she watches it. But before they know it, the Geist vanishes into one of the skeletons for some reason. Strange, they cannot take over bodies of the living, even skeletons.

Until...

The theory has been proven wrong. The bones begin to twitch and the skeleton in the seat presses the bony hand against the arm rest with force, pushing itself up from its seat and the eyesockets are filled with glowing red balls of energy that burn bright and there is a horrific growl from inside the skeleton as it stands there. The Skeleton glares at them and their eyes widen with disbelief, even Kragen’s does as well. “By gods! They’ve learned how to take over people!” Raven yells with terror in her voice as she gets ready to fight. More Geists start to pour through the walls and they enter the other corpses, both ancient and recent. The Skeleton turns to a rifle on the ground and rips it from the dead Acolyte’s hands, aiming it straight at them.

“Die!” The Geist snarls.

_They can talk..._

The other corpses rise up from where they fell, the one with the arrow in his back stands up as well, staring at them with burning red eyes, picking his gun back up to fight again. “This is new!” Qrow calls out as he draws his sword. The Geist attacks them and Ren slashes the blades at the soldier’s body, slicing across his forearms, drawing blood. But he has no reaction at all.

“They don’t feel pain!” Ren calls out.

Qrow looks at the bodies that have not been possessed and there is something in common, they are all suffering head injuries. Some of the skulls have been caved in or they are too broken to fight, some with shattered limbs. Meaning there is a way to take them down, and it is a gruesome option. “Go for the head or make the bodies useless!” Qrow advises as he throws his sword straight into the chest of a skeleton controlled by a Geist. The blade smashes straight through the skeleton, the body shatters like glass with bones bouncing and rolling along the floor. Qrow turns after he grabs his sword, ripping it from the ground and he uses the huge blade to guard his body from the bullet that has been shot towards him. The bullet hitting the blade makes one extremely loud twang that echoes through the tunnels. The soldier controlled by the Geist groans with what would have been pain, but it is just the Geist manipulating his vocal cords. The soldier turns and his arm is cut off from the razor sharp red blade of Raven, blood spraying from the stump, and there is no reaction. He just looks at her, holding the halved gun in the other. She immediately swipes the blade across his torso, cutting him clean in half. The Geist erupts from the eyes of the soldier and slashes at her, flying around; Qrow sees the same from the skeleton he just destroyed. Raven leaps into the air, thrashing with her blade with force, cutting clean through the mask-like face of the Geist. The ghostly form dissipates with a loud roar as the bones crack and crumbles away. Qrow points his sword at the fleeing spectre and he engages the gun, the blade folds down and the barrel extends out from the hilt. He pulls the trigger, launching a shell into the head of the Geist, killing it.

Nora smashes a soldier in the chest so hard with her hammer that it shatters ever bone in his body, making the Geist flee from being unable to use the body. The Geist snarls and tries to attack. Something else happens though, another type of Grimm appears. Similar to the Geist but one that does not need to possess objects to fight its enemies. It emerges from the shadows, holding a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other, the legs reduced to black smoke, the body wrapped in black cloth and the head concealed by a hood. “Wraith!” Kragen yells as he smashes his staff across the head of a fleeing Geist and Ren jumps in the air, shooting the one Nora managed to get out from its body. There are still other soldiers inside the room, being controlled by the Geists, but the Wraith has just come out of nowhere. The Wraith roars monstrously, suddenly vanishing in a deep red burst of flames, then appearing behind Ren in the same animation.

“Ren! Look out!” Nora screams. Ren looks over his shoulder and sees the Wraith directly behind him, swinging the lantern right at him aggressively, hitting him in the head. The swing causes the ghostly body of the Wraith to spin, and as it comes round it jabs his aura with its sword, scraping across him. The Wraith howls as it moves around, this was the thing that was following them, not the Geists. The Wraith must have summoned the Geists to take over those bodies; it is much stronger than they are. Winter forms a glyph that shields her from the bullets of the Geist Controlled Acolyte across the room from her, the bullets deflected into the ceiling and walls around her. Winter spins her sword through her fingers and uses a Glyph under her feet to dart towards him, slamming the sharp blade of her sword right into his sternum, dragging him across the floor. Blood smudging across the floor. She ejects the shorter and thinner blade from the primary one and catches it in her free hand. Just as the Geist throws itself from the corpse, she slashes the other blade across its head, swiftly killing the Grimm there and then.

Nora shoots her grenade launcher at the Wraith and the Spectre teleports away from the explosion, snarling as it tries to attack her as well. The flame in the lantern has a deep red hue to it and it continues to attack her with both the lantern and the sword, seems to be its main attack, along with confusing its prey with the teleportation. Qrow holds his sword by both hands as he jumps and attacks it, but the Wraith lifts the sword up and blocks the blade and bashes him across the face with the lantern, warping away to avoid incoming attacks of Raven and Winter. Ren shoots Stormflower at the Grimm but the Spectre is too strong for that to have any kind of effect.

Until the room suddenly lights up and a beam of white light suddenly blasts straight past them all and into the chest of the Wraith. The Wraith roars in pain, being pushed back by the blast until it is destroyed. The chest explodes and the entire body of the Wraith erupts into red flames, roaring in pain and anger as it is burned to ghostly ashes. The roar fades and then the smoke fades away as well.

Ren looks at where the light came from.

Kragen stands there, white smoke trailing from his silver eyes and they were glowing, but are dulling back to their normal hue. He shakes it off and holds onto his staff, growing weak from that. With the Spring Maiden not with him, his age has made him weak again. Nora and Ren run to his side and they help him to stay on his two feet. “Are you okay?” Nora asks nervously. He simply pats her shoulder with a smile.

“Yes, I’m okay...just need a minute.” He says to her. The blast from the white beam made the room shake and it killed the other Geists inside, it really is true what they say. A single look from a Silver Eyed Warrior can strike a Grimm down, at least when they look at them like _that_. Qrow sheathes his sword and walks over to the Warrior.

“Never seen a Wraith in person.” Qrow chuckles.

“Servants of the Knight of Death.” He says to Qrow and they all look at him with confused expressions.

“I thought they were just Creatures of Grimm.” Raven presumes as she sheathes her sword back in the scabbard.

“Well – all Spectres serve Death.” He adds.

“What do you mean?” Winter pries.

“The Spectral Grimm are not the same as the other kinds. Geists, Wraiths, Noonwraiths, Sirens, Elementals, Leshens – you name it...if they are Spectral in any way...they serve the Knights, mostly serve Death because he can revive them in that form.” Kragen explains as he takes a seat, next to a shattered skeleton. He looks at it and he jokingly bumps his elbow against its shoulder, causing it to tip over slightly.

“I guess that makes sense.” Raven scoffs in concurrence.

“Any tips on how to expect them?” Winter asks, acting like a Military Officer again.

“Well, the Geists follow the Wraiths, Wraiths follow the Sirens and Noonwraiths, they follow the Elementals and the Leshens. They all follow the Knights.” He explains.

“What do the Knights follow?” Nora curiously asks.

“They are not creatures of Grimm – I thought that this was clear.” He says to them all.  “They are more than the Grimm, able to control them yes, but they are not Grimm. They are more powerful than they are; they are the only Spectres that still have a soul in them.” He explains.

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” Qrow states.

Kragen looks at the Branwen. “Finding their soul is the key to stopping them for good. You can fight them over and over and over again but they will never stop coming back. Not until we free their souls, and once they are free, the Spectral Grimm will be freed as well.” Kragen expounds so then they all understand. He takes his staff, feeling less dizzy now, and stands back up again. “Are we all clear on that matter, now?” Kragen asks them all.

They all nod their heads. “Good, now we should be close to the book.” He says, walking forward. Ren watches him as he walks and he approaches the wall, pressing his hand against it, his eyes glow faintly and just like the door that granted them an entrance to this place, it opens...

...and they cannot believe what they see.

It is a gigantic underground labyrinth filled with aisles of books. Books are everywhere, but at the very centre of all of it, is one that is on a pedestal, light coming down from a damaged ceiling. The walls are large and they can see the sun bleeding through cracks in one portion of it. They all walk over to his side and they behold the incredible Library. “By the gods...this is incredible.” Winter gasps with amazement.

“Good thing Blake isn’t here – she’d have a field day if she saw this.” Nora comments with a huge smile on her face. She immediately walks forward. “Let’s go get that book.” She says, but Kragen holds his hand out as he stands there, his eyes widen when he senses something. Nora looks at Kragen, apprehensive about why he has just stopped her like that.

“Wait.” Kragen says.

“What is it?” She asks him.

Raven stands there and she sighs with angered frustration. “We’re wasting time.” She says as she walks towards the steps.

“Don’t you get it?” Kragen whispers and she looks at him with anger, anger she has unexpectedly started feeling. That is the moment when she realised – that this is not her anger that she is experiencing. They all turn with widened eyes when they see the massive fire engulfed Wyvern gliding towards them with a monstrous roar, breathing a cloud of fire right at them. The explosion sends them all tumbling down in different directions. Qrow, Winter and Raven tumble down to the left staircase into a different section of the Library, Kragen down the middle, and Ren and Nora fall down the right.

 

**Qrow**

Qrow hits his head against one of the stairs as he tumbles down, sliding across the floor, groaning in pain as he lands there. Raven rolls off the steps and she looks around with her hand on her gut. Qrow’s eyes burst open when he feels Winter landing on his gut and he wheezes in pain. “Ow...” He winces.

“Sorry...” Winter apologises as she gets up, helping him up. They can hear the whooshing thrum of the flaming wings of Fury as he glides around them. Qrow focuses his red irises on the fiery monster as it lowers in altitude. The Wings fold back and the entire flaming body dissipates into his Knight-Shaped Form, landing on both boots before them. The fire still raging on as he stands there, melting the stone under his feet as he stands there, wielding his axes in his gauntleted hands. His molten teeth are gritted tight and burning hot eyes glow as they stare at his enemies in front of him.

“Oh great...this went so well last time.” Qrow sighs as he stands back up, grabbing his sword and spinning it through his fingers.

“I will not let you go so easily this time.” Fury snarls with acerbity in his fiery tone.

“Didn’t expect you to.” Qrow says.

“Why do you want Ruby?” Raven interrogates with furious eyes pointing her red Odachi at the Knight. The Knight of Fury paces back and forth, his eyes focused on them as he walks around.

“Tis what Death requires.” Fury states, sounding extremely loyal to his leader.

“That may be – but why do _you_ want her?” Raven repeats, hoping to cut deep into his soul by finding his humanity. They can already guess that this is the corrupted soul of Axzura Vex, but they need to see if he is still in there. He would be difficult to convince at the moment, without the Visionary Book’s information, they still will struggle with changing his mind and helping him. Fury snarls and then a deep, evil laugh emerges as he walks. He then finally tells them.

“I long for my trove to return to me – it still remains on the Volcanic Chain Isles, where I left it, where we were betrayed. I want my life’s work back.” Fury answers as he paces.

“Why?” Winter inquires as she stands up.

“Because I earned it!” Fury hollers, pointing one of his axes at her, snapping to anger extremely fast, the flames around him burning brighter and hotter as a symbol of that anger.

“Who betrayed you?” Winter questions and Fury stares at them with narrowed eyes.

“Arkhonex.” Fury snarls as he holds his axes tight. Fury abruptly charges straight at them, every step he takes leaves charred prints on the ground and he slashes both Berserker Axes at them all. Qrow quickly lifts his sword up and he falls to one knee from the force and weight of both the axes hammering down on his blade. Fury grits his teeth, lava leaking from his mouth like salvia, snarling with ferocity. Raven appears behind him, using a portal to move fast, jumping straight at him from behind and driving her Odachi straight through him. Qrow’s eyes widen and he rolls backwards, narrowly missing the red blade as it protrudes through the Knight’s chest. Embers spraying from the wound like blood. Qrow stares at her sister with shocked eyes.

“Hey! Careful!” Qrow yells.

“You were fine!” Raven replies, holding onto the hilt as Fury staggers around, unfazed by the blade that has been stabbed straight through his torso. His burning cape transforms into the engulfed Wyvern Wings and he spins round, launching lines of fire at the others and the speed of his spin throws the Raven Haired Woman from his shoulders. She luckily was still holding onto the hilt of her Odachi when she was thrown off, pulling the blade out his back in the process. The wings fold back away again and they connect together, fire bursts between them like a forger welding two bits of metal together, and they transform into his cape that dangles behind him as he walks. He keeps his burning hot eyes on them as he walks, swinging his axes back and forth whilst he takes his steps. He then rushes at Winter; she rushes towards him in return. She drops down and slides underneath Fury’s legs as he smashes his axe into the ground, creating an explosion from the impact. Winter casts a glyph under her feet to jump high in the air and to land on his back, driving her sword into his spine.

 

**Ren**

Ren presses his hand to his head, looking back at the stairs. They never noticed that Fury bombed the ceiling when in Wyvern Form, causing tonnes of debris to fall and blocking them off from one another. He has split them up, and Kragen is on his own. They can hear the battle of Fury against the others, and Ren holds Nora’s hand still, getting back up. “Nora?” He quietly whispers to her, helping her back to her feet.

“Crap...can we get back to them?” Nora asks him as she looks around. Ren walks with her, nearly tripping on books that are scattered on the ground, the place is like a huge maze, so many huge bookcases that stand like towers, filled to the brim with books. All on historical events, perhaps even on the Arkhoni themselves.

“We should try and find a way around.” Ren says, moving forward. They begin their trek into the maze, passing the huge books that are thousands of pages thick with text, on things that they have never heard of.

_Excidium Anxuarian in deserto Iudaeae_

_Hunt Serpentia_

_Et gemmas ad latus aquilonare, Oriente, Occidente, et Meridionalis Terris_

_Sacra Congregatio Sororum ab Aurora_

Countless others surround them that they have never seen, all wrapped in ebony leather casing and filled with pages that have turned yellow over the years but the ink has not faded somehow. It is incredible Nora picks one up – _Et gemmas ad latus aquilonare, Oriente, Occidente, et Meridionalis Terris_ _._ She flicks it open and starts to read what is inside, it is a huge book and she starts to read the beginning passage.

She struggles to translate it for it is in some ancient dialect that she cannot translate. The passage starts with simply:

_Annos Singulos – 2017_

_Mense – Vlahass_

_Dies – Stimantis_

_Omne initium sollemnitate regum archangelus a se draconem aliquem contractum unus post multum dare._ _Hoc erat festum omnes sumus anni, deterrere potuerint quin ex omnem terram regibus trans reliquias maritimæ in honorem Dei nostri bellatoribus casis. Perveniens Reliquias scientists sunt investigatione est arcanum per hoc reliquias maritimæ in saeculum saeculi ... ne suspicaturus et gloriosus ille archangelus cum esset una, nec revelabis fœditatem ejus._  
_Ut per familias et qui revelat operimentum hoc documento, exáudi nos admonens dicebat ... Linquere solam reliquiae sunt nimis periculosum corrumpat mentes bonorum vident illos qui ad bella quibus unquam delebit quae aedificatur. Si vos reperio eis ut eos in recessu. Ne repetere nostra errata._

 

Unable to translate the text, she stammers as she looks at Ren. “Ren – I can’t read this, it’s in a different language.” Nora says to him as she touches the pages, trying to decipher it. Ren walks over to her and sees the extremely confusing tongue that this has been written in. He the looks at the orange haired girl.

“Just leave it, we don’t need it.” He says, but when she closes it, her eyes widen when she sees what has been engraved on the front cover. She blows the dust off, her cyan eyes wide.

“Ren – I think we do.” She says to him, turning it to face him. He walks over and he gasps with disbelief, seeing the markings.

Four Stones orbiting a sun like a compass and there are the faint etchings of the map of Remnant around it, each stone on each area, areas that would become the four Kingdoms. Without a doubt, this must be connected to the four Relics somehow, perhaps to their history entirely, but of the Arkhoni, not the Knights. It seems the only way to find that information is through these books.

Typical.

Ren then takes his back off and unzips the biggest section. “Go on, put those books in. When we find Kragen he could be able to translate it.” Ren explains. She agrees, picking the books up and storing them in his travel bag before heading off to find Kragen.

They continue to walk through the maze but Ren stops hastily, his eyes widening when he hears the movement of something nearby. Nora looks at him with worried eyes.

“Ren?” She whispers.

“Quiet.” Ren tells her.

“What is it?” She asks him. He hears the footsteps near, a heavy metallic bang every now and then, like a walking cane. His hairs stand on end and so do hers, they both look at the hairs with fear.

“He’s here.” Ren says to her when he senses his presence. He holds her close and she rests her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as he engaged his semblance, their bodies turning grey. They both watch as they see the tall Knight walking round the corner. His rotten skin cloak wrapped around his putrid body, holding Formido Falcem in his hand as he walks, his Crossbow in the other. His glowing golden eyes look around and he stops, searching for his prey. As he stands there, unable to see them, he can still sense their presence, and a mad smirk grows across his torn face.

He looks in their direction, despite being unable to see them. The master of tricks begins his game as he walks around, pushing books out the way with his bony feet. “Well...” He growls as he walks. “Ren.” He snaps, instantly remembering his name as he walks past them, looking around, using his aura of fear to scare them into revealing themselves. And they are both getting more and more terrified from his presence. He closes his eyes as he looks around. “I hear you...I can sense your trepidations, I feel your frosty breath.” Fear announces as he walks, slamming the end of his scythe into the floor every time he walks, making Nora jump in Ren’s arms as they stand against the bookshelf. He stands there and turns around, looking in their direction, like he is playing a game.

The last time he played hide and seek...

It didn’t end well.

He walks closer to where they are hiding. “Where are you?” He asks in a sing-song voice. He then speaks again, harsher and sharper. “Where are you?” He hisses with gritted teeth. Nora and Ren nod and they start to flee from him, using the shadows to conceal themselves, since they cannot move when Ren uses his semblance. Fear turns his head sharply when hearing the pitter-patter of their feet. He grins and then he pursues them, using his wings to glide through the bookshelves as they run. “I spy with my little eye – a huntsman and huntress!” Fear laughs as he pursues them. They both hide behind a pillar that holds the ceiling up and Nora hugs him again and he holds her tight, using his Semblance of Zen again. She buries her head against his chest lovingly, not from fear.

Feeling safe in his arms.

They see him land to their right, walking around again with Formido Falcem still in his grip. He seems to be enjoying himself. “Come now – don’t be shy little ones...step into the light.” Fear demands as he looks for them, gripping the Scythe tighter with gritted teeth. He hums to himself as he walks picking up a book and looking at it as he walks. He then drops it, gesturing his finger as he picks up on something. “There is definitely something about you – Lie Ren.” Fear speaks, certain of his presence. Ren holds her close and keeps his eyes on Fear as he walks round the pillar where they are, like he knows that they are there the whole time. He looks in their direction but still cannot see them, like the Grim, he is hiding them but Fear’s presence is managing to combat his Zen. “Something you hold close – the heart of a Valkyrie that you love so dearly.” Fear states with a mad smile on his face, laughing banefully, his laugh starts to bury into their heads and he tries to shake it off. But his lack of focus has a terrible weakness, his semblance breaks and they are now both in the sights of the Knight of Fear.

Fear looks them dead in the eyes and he smiles. “Ah...there you both are.” Fear chuckles. They both look at him, and Nora starts to speak, hoping to keep the situation calm.

“He-Hello.” Nora begins with a little smile, that does catch Fear off guard a little bit, but he lets her speak. As polite as a Spectral Representation of Fear can be. “We – um – came here to get some books, you know...’cause we were bored.” She attempts to defuse and Fear laughs, walking around them and then his robes shift into the wings that spread outwards, revealing the torn holes in the membranes themselves, some bones cracked inside. He looks down at them both, eyes glowing bright.

“Which one are you searching for?” He asks with a booming voice, his hands held out to the millions of books stored inside of this library. Nora looks at him, and she knows that he knows what they are here for. _So what’s the point in lying?_

“Well, Renny and I were looking for a book about the Knights of Grimm – dunno if you have heard of them.” She says to him, making jokes to the Knight in front of them. Luckily for her, Fear is the most charismatic of the bunch.

“I’ve heard stories.” Fear admits with a sarcastic tone.

“Well – I heard that the one called fear is a real charmer.” Nora says, Fear laughs and stares straight at them.

“Do you think flattery will stop me from killing you?” He asks them after his chortle, which kills the conversation swiftly like an arrow to the face. Nora shrinks down after hearing him say that.

“No, no.” She answers.

“No indeed.” Fear confirms, switching hands on the Scythe as he drags the curved blade behind him as he walks towards them. “So you have failed to heed my warning on searching for this Visionary Books and you expect me to let you live this time. Tell me – Nora Valkyrie – where were you born, how did you find dear Lie Ren? Because you were not born in Kuroyuri, where you?” Fear asks her as he walks closer to them both. Nora stammers and she looks at Ren who is just as speechless as she is. She then closes her eyes when thinking of an answer.

“I – I come from Kuchinashi.” Nora answers with a stammered voice.

Fear takes a step closer, still smirking as he always does, tilting his head as he looks at her. “Kuchinashi?” He asks her, a deep growling breath escaping his torn lungs. Nora nods her head quickly and she feels Ren’s hand touching hers, they are both glancing to the side, a possible way to get to Kragen. They will not be able to stand a chance against Fear on their own.  “My parents and I we were going out on a trip to see the lands...I got lost from them and I found myself there.” She explains, but she is lying about an important point.

And Fear knows it.

He grits his teeth and sternfully stares at her as he walks around them both. “I always managed to remain unseen.” She giggles, keeping her act up. Fear chuckles as he walks towards her again.

“Intriguing – what else do you claim to be?” Fear asks her as he approaches, standing literally a few inches from her face, staring into her cyan eyes and Ren’s pale pink eyes.

“I – I am...” She stammers.

Fear makes her stutter as she tries to speak. Then she answers. “Leg-Breaker.” She remembers, thinking back on how she wanted to break Cardin Winchester’s legs during their first year. “Super-Strong Girl.” She adds, reciting her inhuman strength that she has on her relatively tiny body. Fear exults at her words.

“Lovely titles – go on.” Fear requests.

“Queen of the Castle.” Nora says nervously. Fear smirks when hearing that.

“Queen?” He questions, and then he prods his finger against the air as he steps away from her with another chortle. “Now that is interesting.” Fear admits as he walks around the area. He grabs onto one of the pillars as he walks around, keeping his golden eyes on them both, knowing of the possible escape route. He stares straight at them. “And what about your dear old Silver Eyed Warrior ally of yours?” He asks them. “Where has he gone fleeing to?” Fear asks them both, and Nora attempts to defuse it, whether or not she expects him to believe her.

“Silver Eyed – Huh? Oh no, no Warrior here. You’ve got that all wrong, only one we know of is Ruby and you have her.” Nora says to him, hoping he’d believe her. His smirk grows further up his face as he stands there.

“Oh I don’t think so – Queen of the Castle!” Fear barks, his eyes glowing more fiercely. “He brought you in here to do his dirty work, whilst he claims that knowledge for himself!” He speaks as he walks around, and every time he looks away, they slowly and carefully edge their way closer to the way out of this place. But he turns and they stop, Nora looks at him in the eyes.

“Truly, you are mistaken Fear. There is no other Silver Eyed Warrior with us; you’ve made sure that there is only one left.” Nora says to him and Fear smirks as he walks closer to them as they stand there.

“You have – nice manners – for a Queen – and a liar!” He roars aggressively. His sudden change of character has frightened her, making her stumble into Ren’s arms. “You lied about your past, your family was killed by a Leshen in the woods during your trip and you were on the run, and found yourself there. Only to have that village attacked by another Grimm, leading to you meeting the love of your life – Lie Ren.” He explains and she stammers with fearfulness in her mind after hearing it all happening again. He stands there and then starts to look around. “I know the scent of Argentum Natus – no one better!” He laughs as he walks around, and his theatrical speech is giving the couple more time to get closer to their escape.

“It is the knowledge, they seek knowledge like carrion flies who seek rotten flesh.” He snarls, taking a step so close they both tumble down the steps, the carrion flies in his robes swarming after them. He stares at them and starts to shout. “Did you not think I knew this day would come?” Fear roars, turning so hard he hits his head against the pillar next to him, creating a loud thump. They both land inside of a pile of books as he thrashes the scythe around to find them. “That a pack – of canting huntsmen and huntresses – would come crawling back to Arkhonex?” He roars as he slashes the blade of Formido Falcem across one of the pillars, as he says the word _crawling_ he uses his fingers to mimic the running legs of a human, mocking their fleeing nature, then pushing the damaged pillar over with his hand, creating an extremely heavy bang.

They both burst from the books to run from Fear, there is a room that they can skulk in to escape his grasp. He steps down from the upper level, looking down at them, dropping down behind them, his landing creating a weighty quake. “The Head of Mistral’s King Taijitu is dead – our new head is calling the shots now and the coming annihilation for this generation will be beautiful!” Fear speaks terrifyingly as he pursues them as they run down the steps to get to where Kragen is probably headed right now. “We killed your friends like a Beowulf amongst sheep!” He lists with a mad smirk on his face.

They get closer and closer to the small room. His wings fold out as he watches them, still holding his Scythe. “We are Extinction!” Fear proudly says, transforming into the Bat that shrieks hauntingly as it chances them.

They both slide inside the room and he drags his talons into the roof, returning to Knight form, stood atop the roof.

Fear slams the end of his Scythe down hard on the roof of the building, his fearful aura affecting the pair inside the building as he stands there. “This Canvas of Life you have painted will be wiped clean! Once and for all!”

“It will be gorgeous.”

 

**Qrow**

Qrow rolls out of the way as Fury slashes his Axe straight at him and he scrapes the blade of his sword across his gut, causing a cloud of burning hot orange embers to flutter out from his torso. Winter yells, launching an ice spike directly at the Volcanic Knight. Fury roars and a cloud of burning hot flames erupts from his open jaws like a dragon, melting the ice before it could even touch him, evaporating the water. He spreads his wings out and starts to slash at them, every time he thrashes his wings, it throws a line of fire directly at their faces, and the impact sends them flying from their feet. Qrow smashes the huge blade of his sword into the ground to keep himself from being sent flying backwards. He rips it out from the floor and swings it hard and fast, the impacts are of little interest to him because the magma keeps on repairing his wounds.

Winter stands there, an idea has sparked in her mind and she looks at Raven. She forms a glyph and Raven sheathes her Odachi, switching the dust coated blade to cyan coloured dust that coats a new blade, one that has fog trailing from the blade itself. One that can freeze anything. It could do some major damage to the knight. Winter aims her glyph at Fury as he licks Qrow up the chin and smashes him into the ground. Fury swings the axe downwards to kill Qrow, until a quartet of ice shards gets lodged into his shoulder without him realising, causing him to recoil. The fire hisses and pumice starts to form across his shoulder, Fury tenses his massive hand into a fist as he stands there, gritting his temperamental teeth together so hard that lava starts to leak from his jaws. He tenses his body and the flames do return, melting the ice in his arm. The magma heats back up again and the pumice starts to float around the magma flesh inside of him. Qrow looks at Fury and he starts to push himself back, crawling away as Fury starts smashing the blades of his burning axes down at his feet, tearing the floor apart.

Raven sprints at the Knight as she swings his sword across the chest of Fury, the cold blade cutting deep and leaving frost that has spread across him like a plague and she starts to make more attacks on him, he swings his axe towards her but she manages to cut his arm off, his hand falling from the wrist and the ice extinguishes the fire, cooling the lava inside. The hand lands on the ground and shatters into chunks of pumice that crumble into grey dust matter. His axe hits the floor and burns up from a lack of contact. He kicks her in the chest however when she tries to stab him, roaring with rage, the magma melting the ice and his hand starts to grow back. “We need to be faster, we can cool the fire down with our ice, you do the damage with your sword.” Winter tells him.

“Good plan.” Qrow nods.

Fury forms his axe from his wrist, catching the infernal weapon and staring at them. “You will burn!” He roars as he sprints at them, suddenly transforming into a wyvern that smashes straight into them, and through the wall. The wall explodes and sand spills into the library, light pouring inside. The burning Wyvern glides out from the dunes where the library is buries, and the three warriors are thrown out into the hot dunes, rolling through the sun baked sand. The Wyvern soars across the clear sky, the sandstorm has passed and he is all that remains as a threat. Fire and smoke trailing from his form as he soars around them. He banks round and dives towards them, roaring as he breathes a constant plume of superheated flames that burns the sand. The sand melts and forms into glass as he attacks, narrowly missing them. He spins round in the air, the wings folding into his cape and he lands on the dunes, every step he takes is now leaving glass prints from the pressure of the heat.

He walks towards them and they get ready as he glares at them. He stops and he holds his hand in the air, clenching it into a fist. “What’s he doing?” Raven asks.

“Not a clue.” Qrow answers.

He roars, throwing his hand downwards and above him is a powerful fiery portal, and a Spectral being falls from it and rises up. A spirit similar in shape to him but one that mimics him, an Elemental. A Fire Elemental, rocks floating around the fire and magma that shapes it and it holds a sword in its hand, not a pair of axes and it is a little shorter than Fury is. Two more appear with it, holding their burning swords as they stare at him. “You see? It’s not so simple – I have more where that came from.” Fury growls, and they all charge forward with him. He can summon his own warriors.

“For the Captain!” The Elementals yell with demonic voices. They were once his crew on his ship that he owned when he was Axzura Vex. Raven runs at one and crosses the blade to the side to deflect the blade of her enemy that clashes his blade into her ice blade, pushing down with force. The Elemental roars with anger, forming a cloud of fire in its hand and swiping it at her to harm her. Raven kicks the Elemental in the chest and cartwheels backwards to avoid the fire. She swings her sword across the sand as she gets ready to fight again, her face protected by her helmet that she wears. The Elemental continues to attack her, hitting fast and hard with its sword.

Qrow stares at Fury, the other two have converged on Winter but she can handle herself. Qrow tightens his grip on his sword and Fury looks at the three Elementals he has summoned, the furious crew. “You see that? Loyalty even in death – unlike anything I have seen in this generation.” Fury growls.

“That’s not loyalty, it’s controlling.” Qrow corrects.

“Silence!” Fury yells as he sprints at Qrow, swinging his axes at him again, Qrow ducks down and slashes his sword at the blades, hitting them aside and bouncing back on his toes to keep away from the burning Axe-Heads that are being swung at him by the enraged monster. He smashes the sword against the axe and immediately slashes across the eye of Fury, cutting deep and he staggers back, creating a snarl of anger as he stands there, fire burning from the wound. He quickly turns and bashes the axe across his aura, and then kicks him straight in the chest. Qrow lands on the sand and he looks up at the burning bright sun, to see the winged Knight leaping high in the sky and landing down like an asteroid directly before him, wedging the axes into the sand where he head was. Luckily the Huntsman rolled aside before he could be executed by the Pirate Captain.

Qrow throws himself backwards, swinging the sword at the Knight again, knowing it will have no effect against him.

Winter uses both of her blades and her glyphs to great skill, using that Atlesian Training to survive against the two Fire Elementals that are attacking her. Her eyes focus on Qrow on his own where he is pinned down by Fury. She forms around ten glyphs around the Elementals and she leaps into them, bouncing against them and cutting them down with great speeds. The Elementals roar in pain, the fire billowing up and their bodies crack and erode away. Winter sets her eyes on them, seeing the magma inside glowing brighter and brighter.

_They’re about to blow up!_

She rolls aside and narrowly misses the two explosions, blasts so powerful that it blows the sand around them away, the bang echoes for miles across the wasteland of a desert. Winter swiftly retreats to get to Qrow, helping him against Fury. Raven slashes the blade across the arm of the Elemental, the ice blade cooling his arm to pumice and then she drives the blade into the heart of the warrior, killing it. But the ice seems to have counteracted the explosive death of the Elemental.

The more you know.

They both run after Fury and they jump high in the air, driving their swords into his back, her icy cold blade extinguishing the flames and he growls in pain. He spreads out his wings and stares at them all when he shakes them both off.

“I will make sure that you all burn like the ones who hid my treasure from me.” Fury promises with hatred in his demonic voice.

 

**Ren**

“It’s Kragen Nox, isn’t it?” Fear questions as he circles the bunker that they are hiding inside of. He walks around with one fist clenched, anger in his voice, an emotion that they do not usually hear from this Knight. He is usually always high and mighty with everything he says and does. Now he sounds serious. “That filthy silver eyed mage you serve by...” He growls, standing by the entrance with the scythe in hand, walking inside. “He brought you here as a distraction – didn’t he?” He asks them both.

“Nope! I have no idea of what you’re talking about!” Nora assures. Fear turns sharply with angered eyes.

“Don’t bother denying it!” Fear shouts, making her jump. “I sensed his foul presence some time ago.” Fear says as he walks around, fist still clenched.  “But it matters not, his ideals for peace are flawed – he will sacrifice your lives and not regret a single second of it. He brought you in here – fully knowing that we could come here as well – and he used you as nothing more than a distraction.” He whispers to them where they hide, smirking as he tries to turn them against him. Ren shakes his head.

“No, you’re lying!” Ren argues and Fear scoffs as he paces around the room with his scythe scraping across the ground.

“What did he suggest? A free Remnant? One with no war or suffering?” He predicts as he walks. “Remnant is cursed with war, always will be, it is the nature of life on this planet. War will always take place and there is nothing that that old man can do to change –” He stops mid sentence, his voice echoing through the chambers and he looks over his shoulder with a concerned expression. He has sensed something elsewhere, something important, Ren and Nora look at each other with confused expressions.

They then faintly hear him say something.

Something they didn’t expect.

“Ruby Rose...” He mutters with a smirk.


	28. An Opportunity of a Lifetime

**Ruby**

Ruby sits tight with her fists clenched and Oscar stands in the corner, waiting for the opportune moment. They can hear the gleeful laughter of one Tyrian Callows getting near to their cells. His shadow walks across the walls as he walks towards her cell. “Looks like I need to make another message for them.” Tyrian whispers as he stares at Ruby and Oscar, his wrist blades extending quickly, light shining across the curved blades. The edges serrated from where he has recently sharpened them with a sharpening stone. Ruby looks at him and she stares straight into his golden yellow eyes.

“Give it your best.” Ruby challenged with a smirk, her confidence angers the Scorpion Faunus. He stands there, and her eyes widen when she sees the tail rising up.

The barb has fully grown back now, filled with poison that could kill her or at least force her into an endurance of agony. She never felt the pain that Qrow experienced as the poison corrupted his bloodstream, slowly killing him over time. It could have been much worse, only a little bit of poison got into him, but now he could get a lot more into her. “I can make you suffer now...” He assures.

“Try it.” She challenges, and Tyrian arches an eyebrow, confused at her sudden fearlessness.

“What are you waiting for?” Tyrian questions. But Ruby narrows her only eye as she stares at him, and it further angers the psychotic man.

She waits...

...and waits.

He grabs the latch and then he opens the cell, about to close the door. “The opportunity of a lifetime.” She answers when he enters, making him stop, realising his mistake. She screams as she launches towards him in a whirlwind of red rose petals, punching him across the side of his head, hitting him hard. Tyrian grunts in pain and Ruby kicks him in the spine and it causes him to stagger. Normally he is able to counter such a simple attack, but he was not expecting her to do it. She catches the door and slams it shut, locking it behind her with Tyrian trapped inside. “No!” Tyrian roars with anger, reaching through the bars for her. He reaches for the keys on his belt but he feels nothing, and then he sees her holding the keychain with a smirk on her cheeky face. He clenches his hand into a fist. “If you think you’re gonna get out of here – you are dead wrong.” Tyrian giggles frenziedly. But Ruby just walks over to Oscar’s cell and she unlocks his door and lets him out. Oscar steps out from the cell and they both look at the trapped Faunus in the cell, animalistically pounding and scraping his blades against the bars to get out, but to no avail.

The cell was built too strong for a prisoner to escape. Ruby smirks and salutes to him. “Enjoy your stay, Tyrian.” Ruby says with a smile, running with Oscar to get out of there. They can still hear Tyrian yelling with anger inside the cell as they flee down the corridor.

“How long until they know we’ve escaped?” Oscar asks her, wagering a bet.

Suddenly there is a loud alarm that starts blaring in the base as some Acolytes have added security systems to the base. “All hands! Prisoner escape!” The soldier on the comms yells. Ruby looks at her partner and laughs a little.

“That long.” She says.

“It seems so.” He chuckles, they continue to run down the corridor and Ruby looks at the boy.

“Do you know how to control your semblance yet?” She asks him and he holds his palm out and shakes it from side to side. In a _sort of_ kind of way. “What does that mean? You can so-so control them? So you can so-so stop time, oh that makes me feel so much better!” Ruby sarcastically groans as they run.

“I’ll figure it out.” Oscar says to her to try and make her feel better, but Ruby is still not entirely convinced. It took her years to control Rose Dash; hopefully he can learn his in a couple of moments.

“How do you intent on doing that?” Ruby asks him.

“I’ll improvise!” Oscar says, they turn a corner and their eyes widen when they see an Acolyte of Lien Mercenary aiming his rifle at them. They both gasp and he fires his gun at them, then time stops with a loud unstable crack, the bullets stopping mid-air in this moment. He takes his chance, still not certain on how he did that – maybe because he thought about it? Or is Ozpin helping him do it? Oscar sprints at the frozen Mercenary and he jumps into the air and he arches his fist backwards, smashing his knuckles into the side of the Merc’s head so hard that it continued the time lag. The soldier is smashed into the ground hard, either dead or unconscious – probably dead after that almighty punch he just experienced. Ruby looks at where he was and now sees him next to the soldier. She cannot help but double take at the boy who is now all the way over there. He shrugs his shoulder, smiling as he looks at the Rose. “See?” He chuckles and Ruby giggles.

“That’s gonna take some time for me to get used to.” Ruby says to him.

“Yeah it’s gonna take some _time_.” He comments, playing on the word. Ruby groans with disgust as she does whenever her sister makes some kind of pathetic pun.

“Don’t fall to my sister’s level – please.” She begs.

“No promises.” He chuckles as she catches up to him and they keep on moving, making banter between each other as they run. They run as fast as they can, the howls of Beowulves grow and grow...Ruby needs to find Crescent Rose if she has any hope of getting out of here alive.

“Search the cells! Find them!” Salem’s voice bellows down the halls and they can hear the sounds of the Grimm chasing after them, and there is a lot. They run quicker and quicker, a Creep stood down the end and it starts to run at them, roaring as it charges at them. Ruby bursts into rose petals and she lands on the spine of the Creature of Grimm, using her bare hands to kill it. She has never been a physically strong girl, always had to rely on her trusty Scythe. But she has not got it now.

_Think Ruby, think!_

_Remember back to Professor Port’s lessons...where is its weak spot? Oh! It’s belly!_

Ruby pushes the Creep as hard as she can with her hands and with Oscar’s help; they manage to push the confused creature onto its side. It thrashes around, kicking its muscular legs and roaring savagely where it has fallen. Oscar turns and he sees a torch stapled to the wall and he looks at it. He was able to manipulate time by thinking about it, so he has an interesting theory in his head.

_What else am I capable of?_

He thinks of being able to age whatever he touches, so he places his fingers on the metal bolts and plates that holds the sharp torch to the wall. The end of it would be enough to puncture the flesh. He looks at it carefully and thinks as hard as he can, blocking everything else out of his mind.

And then...

...he sees rust forming across the metal as it starts to crumble apart and come loose. He smiles with amazement and he rips the torch from the rusted bolts and screws that held it there. “Can’t believe that worked!” Oscar cheers with success. He holds the stake and he jogs over to the writhing Creep on the floor that Ruby is still holding down. He holds the torch and points the jabbing end above where the heart should be. He stabs into it and black smoke pours from the wound the Creep has suffered and it shrieks in pain. He stabs it over and over until it dies, and eventually after a few hits, the body starts to disintegrate away into smoke. He holds the torch in his hand and he gives it to Ruby.

“Don’t you need it?” She asks him, always worrying about other people rather than herself.

“I can use my Semblance, seemed to work on that soldier.” He says to her, and Ruby agrees with him and they start to move as fast as they can to escape this place.

Ruby and him look round a corner and there is a blockade. Since Ruby has a weapon, she will be able to do some damage. There are four soldiers there, armed with guns and ready to take them down. They both look at each other and they nod. Oscar charges out first and then Ruby runs with him, bursting into the cyclone of roses towards them. As the swirl moves towards them, the time continuum slows down and the petals flutter gently towards her target. Oscar sprints past her and hops across the barricades in front of them and he jumps next to one of the soldiers and throws his clenched fist into the side of the Mercenary’s head, his head smashes into the floor and the slowed down moment in time continues, and Ruby warps towards the soldier she targeted. She returns back to her human form and drives the torch he gave her into his heart, pushing him across the floor. A third soldier aims at her, then time pauses again and Oscar grabs his rifle and smashes it across the man’s head with force, taking him out. When time continues, Ruby throws her torch blade into the chest of the last militant, managing to kill him with it, like it was a throwing knife.

Oscar helps her back up and they continue. “That was cool!” She says and they give each other a high five.

They seem to be enjoying themselves.

In advance of when they turn a corner, their eyes widen with dread when they see the Knight of Death stood there, looking over his shoulder and glaring at them with those glowing red triangular shaped eyes, his gauntleted hand of shadows gripping the hilt of Ferrum Arctus, sheathed on his back. He draws the blade, a deep ringing sound escaping the metal as he removes it from the scabbard.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He questions, and they start to back up from him. He towers above them, nearly at seven feet high and the sword is still taller than both of them stood on their shoulders. They persist to back up, but Ruby feels her head bumping into someone behind her and she turns.

To her incredulity...

It is Mercury and Emerald with their weapons ready, but not staring at them. But at Death. “Get out of here you two.” Emerald says to them as she holds her Revolver Sickles in her hands, swinging them round at the hilt of the chain, smirking at Death. Death snarls deeply as he stands there, glaring at this betrayal that has suddenly been set in motion.

“You dare oppose me?” Death questions, holding his sword tighter, red lightning channelling through the blade as he stands there.

“Well you already put a target on the back of my head – if you think I’m gonna go down easily, you’ve got another thing coming.” Mercury challenges, standing ready to fight, his cybernetic legs primed to battle. Emerald points her weapons at him with narrowed red eyes and gritted teeth. Death stares at her.

“And you? What is your reason?” He questions.

“She is only a kid – she doesn’t deserve to suffer like this.” Emerald answers and Ruby looks at them, now she is actually concerned for their safety.

_How the tables have turned._

Death creates a menacing snarl when he stares at them both. “Then you have chosen your own fate.” Death states coldly, swinging the huge blade of his sword right at them both. Mercury jumps backwards and kicks his legs at the Knight, firing shells straight into the blade, which he deflects swiftly. Emerald looks at the two kids.

“Go!” Emerald yells, rolling behind the Knight and slashing her blades up his back aggressively. Mercury sprints directly at the Knight and he jumps at him, kicking his cybernetic prosthetics at him. Death holds the thick metal blade of his sword upwards and he shields his body from the dynamic punts from Mercury. Every impact of the boots hitting the blade resounds metallic twangs across the blade. He pushes both of his feet against the blade and fires the guns inside, using the recoil to soar away from him just at the Knight’s black Nevermore Wings fold out from his smoke trailing cape, slashing the fatal feathers straight at him. Emerald uses her semblance, attempting to trick the Knight into seeing her vanish, but it fails and he swings his sword horizontally at her head. She ducks down, dropping her knees and managed to slide between his legs. Emerald aims both of her guns at the Knight and shoots him in the back, doing practically nothing to his invulnerable form. He slowly turns his head and stares at her, until Mercury kicks him in the side of the head.

Emerald leaps into the air just as Death charges the lightning through his sword and blasts a powerful beam of annihilation at her, blowing a hole in the floor. She throws one of her chained sickles and it hooks onto a section of the ceiling and she swings towards him like Tarzan, kicking him in the side of the head and then shooting him with the other. Mercury sprints at the Knight and he spins round, kicking at the air to fire the shells around him into a swirling vortex around Death. Death stands there and he shields himself with his wings and they cross over his head and the shells explode upon impact on his tough black Nevermore Feathers.

As the smoke clears, a pack of Fatal Feathers are thrown directly at them and they take a couple of hits, their auras being damaged in the process. They both look at the cloud of smoke and they see the ominous figure emerging from the gloom, staring straight at them with his sword still gripped. “You are skilled against students.” He begins, pointing his sword at them. “But I am anything but.” Death threatens and Mercury scoffs.

“Never thought I’d hear someone as formal as you trash-talk...we all have our low points I guess.”

Ruby and Oscar continue to flee, hearing them both fighting Death down the corridor. He was their main threat, but they have yet to see what Salem is capable of. And they have no idea of where they are going to get out of here. “Where now?” Oscar asks her as he looks around.

“I dunno!” Ruby responds, looking around the area for answers.

Without warning, they hear the sound of maniacal laughter nearby...he has broken out of his cell already. And he is not going to be peaceful about this, they both look down the hallway and they see him leap down, his scorpion tail arched over his shoulder and he stares at her. “Ruby!” He howls, sprinting directly at her, and they have no other option than to run. But Oscar stops and he grits his teeth and stares at the maniac as he runs at him.

“Oscar!” She yells.

He has another idea...and he has no idea if it will work. He holds his hand out and he gets closer and closer. Until suddenly a flash of light shoots from his hand and there is a ball of fractured matter surrounding him, keeping him stuck in that moment where he is, like a bubble. They can hear his stretched yells from when he was. “Come on!” Oscar yells, knowing that the Time Bubble is not going to last forever. Ruby looks at him as they run, confused of what has just happened.

“How did you know to do that?” She asks him.

“I didn’t.” Oscar answers.

Tyrian remains frozen in time but the bubble begins to shudder, the sharp fragments of time cracking and coming apart as he forces his way out, his screams of rage growing and growing. Suddenly the bubble bursts and he continues to chase after them, confused for a second of how they managed to get away from him like that. He snarls like a snake at his constant ability to lose them. “Run as far as you want, my little flower! I will find you!” He shouts maniacally.

The hallways just seem to loop and loop, the same thing everywhere they go. Until they find a new room...

One that is haunting.

Ruby gasps in horror...

She has found Tyrian’s Trophy Room. And it is a place of nightmares.

Bodies hanged up by nails through their limbs, blood still staining their tormented bodies. All once had silver eyes, but they have been carved from their skulls by his curved wrist blades, stung multiple times with his tail probably from the injection scars across the bodies. Some have been disembowelled, some beheaded, others stabbed to death where they were hanged up. All of them have Silver Eyes...

...and this is what she awaits if she does not get out.

And he will do this to her, there are women, men and children warriors here. And they are _all_ dead. Hazel does not take enjoyment from killing them, he hates doing it, but he does it for his own revenge on Ozpin in the future. Watts does it because it is all just business to him, the Knights kill them because they see it as their duty and they kill _anything_ with a pulse. But Tyrian – he is something else entirely. He takes them, strips them down to nothing, and slowly kills them, makes them endure the worst suffering known to man.

The place has made her stop, frozen in fear, in the middle of the butchering room. Her eyes widen and she jumps when she hears the door slamming shut behind her. She turns, realising that they were too slow.

Tyrian has caught up to them.

And he has a gritted grin growling on his mad face. Ruby stares at him where he stands, her legs shaking from terror as the madman glares at her, not Oscar, her. He has some kind of sick obsession with the Silver Eyed Warriors, especially with their eyes. And he seems to enjoy cutting those eyes from their faces and torturing them to death. They booms can be distantly heard as Mercury and Emerald fight Death, but Tyrian wants to savour this moment. “Like my Trophy Room?” Tyrian asks her, holding his hands out to the place, how many people died screaming inside here. Blood stains the walls, the floor and even sections of the ceiling from where he has conducted his _work_.

“Why do you do this?” Ruby grills with a broken voice from the horrors and Tyrian cackles, throwing his back backwards.

“What? Why did I carve their eyes from their skulls? Take their guts from their bellies? Make them suffer?” He asks her, walking closer to the little girl who is truly scared of him now, crouching down to stare her in the eyes. “The same reason I do anything.” He says, shockingly, he grabs her and kisses her on the lips and she pushes him away, shrieking in horror, staring at him. He smirks as he extends the blades. “Why not?” He asks her, giggling away. Oscar sternfully scowls at the man, clenching his hand into a fist, fractured shards of time floating across his fists where he stands.

Oscar stands in front of Ruby, setting a withered gawk upon the face of the laughing maniac. Tyrian then focuses on the Farmhand. Tyrian chuckles as he sees the brave boy standing between him and his dear friend. “So it is true – you do love her.” Tyrian states as he stares at her, but Oscar says nothing.

Showing the truth as well.

Tyrian’s smirk never seems to disappear. “If you want to get to her, you’ll have to get through me.” Oscar states. Tyrian gibbers at him as he stands there, but Ruby has never been one to let someone get hurt over her. She can fight for herself. But they are both outmatched in this fight. But Oscar still has power over Tyrian, but he needs to remember that every semblance has its limitations.

“We fight together or not at all.” Ruby says to him, looking him right in the eyes and then they both look at Tyrian. Tyrian cheers, clapping his hands together when he sees them both.

“All we need now is a romantic kiss to seal the deal!” Tyrian squeaks, the blades on his wrists scrape against one another as he claps his hands together. But they are not laughing, and Ruby focuses her only eye on one of the tools he has on the table. Oscar however is fine with his fists.

“Be careful, Oscar – he is on edge.” Ozpin advises. But Oscar is angry; he has had enough of seeing her being hurt by this man. Time freezes and he runs at Tyrian, swinging his fist into the side of his head, causing him to stagger when he punches, and he backs into the wall. But when Oscar aims to do it again, he feels an extremely sudden and sharp pain in his head and he grabs his head, falling to his knees, screaming in pain from the pain that he is experiencing.

He has reached a limit...

_Your semblance is a great fallback, but you can’t let yourself rely on it_

_It won’t always save you_

Tyrian stares at him and he roars, punching him with the blades still extended and the impact launches him. He grunts in pain, luckily his aura protected him, but it still hurt a bit. He is pushed back and slides across the floor, his hands still on his head from the side effect of his abilities. Ruby looks at Oscar, then at Tyrian as he gets ready to attack again. Tyrian laughs and runs straight at her.

Ruby dives away, rolling out of his way and she punches him in the side of the head, but the punch hurts her more than it hurts him. He quickly spins round and kicks her in the chest. She slides across the floor and she focuses her silver eye on a still heated branding iron. It has the Eye of Salem Symbol forged onto it, glowing red hot and Tyrian runs towards her. She grabs the iron and pushes it towards his face.

The iron burns into his right eye, and a howl of affliction erupts from Tyrian’s lungs as he staggers back, his skin burning and melting from the sudden contact and he presses his hand to his face. She has just burned his eye to the point of no return, the brand scarring the side of his face and he glares at her with his one eye and she stands up, still holding the branding iron, beside Oscar. “An eye for an eye, Tyrian.” Ruby hisses, holding it tight. Tyrian screeches, lunging at her, smoke still pouring from the bleeding burns on his eye. She steps aside and smashes the iron across his face, so hard, that it has just knocked him out. A combination and the shock and pain from the burn on his face has done the job.

Oscar shakes the pain off and he sits up, looking at her. He then sees Tyrian’s face, and notices that he is still bleeding. “That’s one way to settle a score.” Oscar scoffs.

“Come on, he’s not gonna be happy when he wakes up.” Ruby advises, helping him to his feet and they keep moving.

The window is open and it goes into a courtyard. The jump is manageable so they make it, dropping down from his Trophy Room and walking across the area. But as they run, their eyes focus on the main building, the church like glass shatters as Death, Mercury and Emerald are thrown through the building, crashing down into the courtyard. They both groan in pain, trying to get back up and Death stands tall, looking down at them both with Ferrum Arctus in his hand.

Ruby then sees Salem stepping out of the building with something terrifying beside her. It stands as tall as her, a body of bark with roots and weeds growing out of its body. It also has a Buck’s skull, antlers displayed outwards with cracks across the bone. The being’s hands have three digits, two sharp fingers and a sharp thumb, a pair of glowing red eyes inside the skull. Crows squawk as they follow it when it steps out. Salem stares straight at Ruby and Oscar and she points at them, her red eyes glow bright and the red veins glow as well. “Bring them to me.” She demands. The crows then begin to fly towards them.

It’s a Leshen.

But Ruby watches Death nervously as he approaches Mercury on the floor and picks him up by the throat, staring into his eyes. Emerald is trying desperately to get up but she has suffered an injury as well, bleeding from her side from her aura which has worn off. But as Death holds him, Mercury takes both boots and shoots into his chest, freeing himself from the gauntleted grip of Death. He flips backwards and goes for an attack.

His worst mistake he could have made.

Because Death swings Ferrum Arctus across his legs and slices clean through the metal limbs, carving them from where they were latched onto, sparks erupting out and he screams in pain, and falls into his grip again. His legs hit the floor, turning offline from the damage that they suffered, electrical fires igniting in places and they lay in the floor. Ruby managed to take a single step forward to help.

But like Pyrrha...

She was too late to stop him.

Death takes his sword and drives it straight through Mercury’s chest, the blade bursting out of his back, blood dripping off the blade and onto the floor as Death holds him up there, staring into his eyes. Emerald’s eyes widen in horror and Ruby stands hopeless, defeated from failing to save someone else who tried to save her. Death continues to stare at him and then Mercury’s pupils dilate, blood dripping from his lips, arms hanging limp from his body. And then the skin turns fiery orange as Death consumes his Aura from the blade, his body burning up and crumbling into ashes. Just like Pyrrha did when Cinder killed her back at Beacon. Ferrum Arctus consumes the soul into the darkness of the blade and his embers float away into the wind, leaving Emerald with no one.

Deaths lowly turns his head and stares down at Emerald, she has no other option.

As a thief always does.

She turns and she flees.

And Death could have gone after her, but he didn’t. He just stares at Ruby as the Leshen starts to walk towards her. But Ruby can’t stop looking at where Mercury was...

And he is now dead.

She wanted punishment, but never death. She would mourn for him, but Oscar grabs her hand and pulls her away from the scene of his death. “We have to go!” Oscar yells.

“No! I can – I can still.” She stammers, wishing she could help.

But the Leshen is getting closer and closer. “Ruby! Mercury is dead – we have to go, now!” Oscar says to her to make her see it and he pulls her away from the area. They run towards a possible exit, a colonnade, but when they run into the pillared paths, Death points Ferrum Arctus at them, charging the lightning through the blade and shooting it straight into the structure they are inside of. The ceiling of the concrete colonnade collapses in an explosion, debris plummeting down between them and splitting them up.

“Oscar!” Ruby screams, finding herself trapped. Oscar tries to find a way through, but all he sees is the Leshen coming after him. Ruby sees Death and Salem coming after her as well...

They have no choice...

They need to split up and pray that they can find each other later.

 

**Oscar**

The Leshen slams its rooted hand against the ground, channelling bark like roots through the soil that erupts behind him, trying to snatch him and bury him alive. He uses his semblance to flee as best as he can, but every time he does, he is faced with extreme headaches that could cripple him in the process. He holds his hand against his head and he looks back, seeing the Leshen pursuing him, creating a haunting growl as it follows him. The Buck’s Antlers scraping against the stone pillars he runs past.

Oscar turns and he throws another Time Bubble, not as painful to use, but still creates some throbbing pains in his temples as he flees the monster. It has frozen just the legs – that is how tall this thing is. He did not stop the whole thing, just the lower half of its body. The Leshen stops and the upper half of the torso still moves. The head of the Leshen looks down at the bubble that has frozen its legs and it is pulling its body, trying to free itself.

Oscar takes that chance to get as far from the Leshen as he can, the Leshen only walks, it does not seem to run. The Leshen repeatedly forces its body against the time bubble, and every movement seems to make it more and more unstable, the shards flickering and bouncing around in the bubble. It is also quite silent as well, and then it rips its leg straight through the bubble with an almighty bang, stepping onto a chunk of concrete. The wooden foot of the Leshen crushes the concrete like it is made of soil, following the path he fled. Ever step the Leshen takes creates deep quaking footfalls, making the walls tremble in fear from its terrifying presence.

As Oscar runs from it, he is suddenly grabbed by an unseen figure and is pulled into the shadows from the Leshen’s view. “Quiet.” He tells him quietly, a gruff voice from his saviour. The Leshen stands tall, almost too tall to fit inside of this building, the branches in its body pressed against the walls. It looks around, looking for him and it snarls. It waits a couple of seconds and walks over to the pillar where they are hiding, pressing the wooden hand against the stone, scraping across it, dust falling from the friction of the touch.

The Leshen creates sounds very similar to the Nuckelavee, like the howling screams of the dead in its breath. It then turns and leaves, walking into a tree and vanishing as it uses the plant life to move around extremely swiftly. The hand is taken away from his mouth, nearly absorbing his entire face from how huge the hand is. He looks at the man in the darkness and he steps into the gloomy reddish purple light of the landscape.

It’s Hazel.

“What are you doing?” Oscar questions as he looks around.

“Getting you out of here.” Hazel answers, guiding him.

“What, no! We have to help Ruby!” Oscar argues.

“I will do what I can for Ruby, but I can get you to safety.” He assures, taking him towards some kind of shrine. A crystal hovering before some kind of doorway.

“How? Where are you taking me?” Oscar inquires.

“I have a contact in Mistral; it is the closest place I can get you to find your friends.” He explains as he places his hand on the crystal. Oscar looks at him and then Hazel removes his hand from the crystal. The dust crystal glows blue and it shoots a beam into the doorway, forming a portal that he can walk through and he looks at him.

“Please – save her as well.” He begs.

“I will try, but I need to keep a low profile.” Hazel explains. He holds his hand out and he looks at Hazel.

“Thank you.” Oscar says with a smile and it warms the huge man’s heart.

For once...he has received a kindness for his deeds. Oscar looks at the portal, and he walks towards it, entering the event horizon of the doorway and he feels the cold chill of the land change to a slightly warmer air.

Nothing like Vacuo though.

He walks into what looks like an office, hearing what sounds like conflict outside, and the portal closes behind him. He takes a step forward and the door bursts open, and he sees a tall man in a tuxedo slamming the door shut. He turns around and his eyes widen, gasping.

It’s Junior.

Oscar nervously waves. “Who the hell are you?” Junior interrogates, pointing at him.

“My name is Oscar Pine, Hazel Rainart sent me here...” He explains. Junior’s eyes widen in fear.

“You are the friend of that girl – Ruby Rose – right?” Junior asks him, clearly he knew about the whole thing happening.

“Yeah.” Oscar answers.

He then hears the sound of the door smashing down behind him. Junior looks at him. “Stay quiet.” He orders.

He immediately runs out and locks the door behind him and he starts listening into the conversation outside. Oscar peers through the window and he cannot believe what he is seeing.

Yang and Kassius are here.

He holds his hands up to the sides of his head and he backs up as Yang and Kassius walk towards him, Junior eyes a buzz saw on a wooden table as a possible weapon, but before he does, Kassius grabs him by the neck. “I don’t think so.” Kassius growls, forcing him against the wall aggressively, staring directly into his eyes and Junior looks terrified. “So – Blackjack, couldn’t make yourself disappear, huh?” Kassius asks him with a smirk.

Oscar is watching the whole thing from inside the room, peering through a window to see what happens.

“Who the heck are you?” Junior questions with fear, holding the metal arm that is pressed against his neck. Yang walks over to Kassius’ side, placing her arm on his shoulder with a smile.

“He’s a friend.” She says with a smirk, not stating their relationship to keep each other safe. If he has become dangerous, they do not want to make that a risk.

“Blondie...I’ve always helped you out, what do you need?” Junior asks them and Yang pats his shoulder to relax. He takes his cybernetic arm away from Junior’s neck and he walks around, the man catches his breath as he stands there. Kassius stands to the window and then looks over his shoulder at him.

“I’m looking for someone.” Kassius says. Junior wipes the dust from his hands and cracks his neck.

“Well I guess we both have something the other one wants.” Junior cockily says the worst thing to say to Kassius as well. Kassius scowls sternfully and he turns to him, and smashes his metal fist directly into his crotch, making him squeal like a little girl, crumpling to his knees with his hands on his genitals. Yang actually flinches from that punch.

“Ouch, that had to hurt.” She giggles.

“We’re not here to ask favours, Hei.” Kassius growls as he limps back up, wheezing in pain.

“You don’t say.” He whimpers in agony.

Kassius manages to get back onto the subject at hand so fast that it nearly seems scripted. “You helped a friend of mine disappear, I need to find her.” Kassius states and Junior looks at him for advice.

“I’m gonna need – a little bit more information that that, pal.” Junior tells him with squinted eyes, still suffering from the crotch punch.

“Her name is Ilia Amitola, a Faunus, part of the White Fang.” Kassius explains, remembering every detail of her off by heart, but not in the kind way. In the way a hunter knows every single detail of his game.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know who she is and I ain’t telling you squat!” Junior argues, testing his patience.

“Junior, this doesn’t have to be difficult.” Yang says to him with a shrug.

“Screw you, Blondie. Every time you show up, everything goes to hell. I don’t give out client information, it’s bad for business.” Junior says to him, and he never expected Kassius to throw his knee up into his chest and to throw him onto the floor, stamping down on his throat. Kassius pushes his whole body weight down onto the throat of the thug, staring straight into his eyes as he chokes.

“Do you know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!” Kassius barks with rage as he gets ready to twist his foot round, to snap his neck.

Junior struggles, holding his boot and Kassius holds him there until he cooperates. “Alright, alright!” Junior agrees with a strained voice. But Kassius is not so willing to release him, his eyes glowing faintly with a red hue, anger filling his veins as they faintly glow volcanically. Yang touches his shoulder and gently pulls him away from Junior so then he can breathe again.

“He’s no use to us dead.” Yang whispers into his ear and he exhales. Junior sits up and looks up at Yang.

“Beacon’s fall really changed you, huh Blondie?” He chuckles.

Yang glares at him. “It definitely opened my eyes, now arrange the meeting!” Yang demands as he gets up. He looks at her and she glares at him as they stand there. He sighs.

“I’m going.” He agrees, finally. He limps over to the console in the corner and he opens it up to a secure channel, speaking to her.

“Hello?” Her voice comes through, sounding nervous. He clearly is using an I.D Disguiser since she has no idea of who he is at first. “Who is this?” Ilia asks, sounding extremely nervous in fact.

“It’s _Blackjack_ , now listen carefully. You’re identification has been compromised.” He explains and the fear can be felt from her silence.

Until she speaks again. “Can you fix it?” She asks nervously.

“That’s why I’m calling. I’m sending an agent out to Mistral, where’d you like to meet her?”  Junior asks her. Ilia remains quiet for a couple of moments, but she finally responds.

“The Market District.” Ilia answers.

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ve got it covered.” Junior assures as he ends the call and turns to them. “It’s all good, she’s gonna meet you at the Market District today.” He tells them both, but they did not notice a very important detail at the time.

Under the terminal.

Was a gun.

“It’s a shame that you’re not gonna be the one to see her.” He says, causing their eyes to widen. He suddenly points the gun straight at Yang, loaded with Anti-Aura rounds that are manufactured by Merlot Industries, made from the same materials as Wilt and Blush’s blade. He pulls the trigger and the bullet hits Yang in the shoulder and she cries out in pain, blood squirting out from her shoulder, staggering back. Oscar gasps in shock and he runs to the door, trying to open it but Junior locked it, he can’t open the door.

Kassius sees her stagger, and he feels his veins ignite with rage. Mr Hyde’s roar of rage grows and grows and Kassius’ veins glow red, his skin cracking like magma as he becomes volcanic with anger. He punches the gun from his hand and grabs Junior by the throat, lifting him off the floor and slamming him on the table with the buzz saw. “You dare hurt her?” Mr Hyde bellows with pure hatred in his voice, the cybernetic hand keeping his head on the wood, the other on the saw blade, turning it on and the blade spins round with a loud roar. He holds his head down and starts to slowly move the saw blade closer...

...and closer...

...and closer.

Yang’s eyes widen and she runs to Kassius’ side, seeing that Hyde has taken over his mind. She grabs his shoulder and looks into his eyes, holding her shoulder with pain. The heat from Kassius’ animosity can be felt against Yang’s skin, and Junior wails in terror, begging him to stop, pleading his apologies for trying to kill her.

The blade is getting closer and closer.

Yang grabs his face. “Hyde...stop...you don’t want to do this.” Yang whispers to him, remembering what Kassius told her. That if he takes over you must call him Mr Hyde, not Kassius. Because it is not _him_ in there, it is _Hyde_.

“He shot you! Hurt you! He must die!” Hyde roars, his demonic voice echoing over the other voices inside, faintly Kassius’ voice can be heard amongst the others.

“I’m sorry!” Junior screams.

“Hyde – please don’t do this, for me. Stop for me.” Yang begs as she looks into his eyes, Kassius’ face is contorted with anger, teeth grit and the blade still gets closer and closer. The blade starts to cut against his hair and he wails louder, Mr Hyde causes Kassius to start screaming with anger.

But then...

Junior says something that stuns them, stuns Hyde into releasing Kassius instantly.

“I know where Ruby is!” He shouts.

Silence fills the room, Yang’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“What?” Yang questions sternly, staring straight at him and grabbing him by his collar, pinning him against the wall. “What did you just say?” She questions.

“I – I have someone in that room who can help you find her, she’s missing, right?” Junior asks her, and Yang looks at the door and then at Kassius with wide eyes.

“Open. It.” She coldly orders.

“Ye-Yeah...sure.” Junior agrees when she releases him. He crouches down and picks up a set of keys and he fits them into the lock, twisting it and opening the door. They both walk inside and their eyes widen with disbelief, mouths agape.

“Oscar?” Yang gasps in shock when seeing him there. He looks up at her with a smile.

“Hi.” He greets with a nervous smile.

 

**Ruby**

The Silver Eyed Girl staggers through the colonnade, looking back when she hears the voice of Salem speaking to her. “You can run, Ruby, but you cannot hide.” Salem says to her, but she ignores the voice of the corrupted woman, and she opens a door, finding a large room, one that has an open portal inside.

Her hairs stand on end.

But when she walks towards the portal, a glass wall slides down in front of her, shielding her from her freedom. “No!” She screams in anger, pounding her fist against the glass over and over again.

She then hears a menacing laugh emerging behind her, and she turns around, seeing the source of the laughter. Fear is there, and he walks up to the glass with Formido Falcem in his hand, staring at her. “Like a rat in a trap.” He says to her and she punches the glass where he stands.

“Why are you doing this to me?” She screams.

“Oh I just wanted to let you fight for your freedom.” Fear says. But he knows about what happened to Mercury and he smirks menacingly. “Nothing hurts more than losing someone you care for – knowing that there’s no one to blame but yourself!” He sharply says, turning and walking away from her, leaving her in the dark trap on her own.

The power behind what he said...

...because she blames herself for what happened to Pyrrha.

The silence that has come about the place makes her shudder and her hairs still stand on end. She looks at the glass and she starts to punch it with her hand over and over again. But it is doing nothing, every punch has no effect. She looks at the floor and there is an object, a brick. Ruby grasps the brick and she starts wailing on it, smashing the brick against the glass with force.

It’s working!

Cracks are spreading across the glass.

Every punch she lays, her hairs stand further on end.

Punch!

Punch!

Punch!

She hits the glass so hard; the brick bounces off the glass and lands behind her. She turns and looks at the brick, crouching down to pick it up, and then she rises up.

And her heart stops when she sees him. She takes an inhale so sharp and sudden that she nearly passes out.

He stands tall; wearing a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories include a small grey scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band. The man has slanted, dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. Black eyeliner traced his visible left eye.

He smirks as he points Melodic Cudgel at Ruby’s face. “Miss me, Little Red?” Roman Torchwick asks her with a wink.

He then pulls the trigger.

And everything goes black; his laughter heard echoing into the distance like the gunshot of his cane.


	29. Closure

**Ruby**

“Ruuuubyyyy?” Roman’s voice coos as her eyes begin to open again, stunned with a black eye from her injury. As her eyes begin to focus, she sees him crouching down beside her, waving his gloved hand across her face with a grin on his face, the orange hair covering one eye. “Ruuuuuuuuubyyyyyyy?” He repeats, still in a calm voice. He looks her right in the eyes. “Can you hear me – Red?” He asks her with a smile. He then stands up sharply, shrugging his shoulders forcefully as he rises upwards. “Oh, come on, Red! You know it’s me!” Roman scoffs like an impatient child and Ruby looks at him with pure disbelief, backing up against the wall. She looks around, and her heart sinks when she realises.

She is back in the cell.

She was so close.

“Torchwick? But you’re – you’re dead...” She stammers.

“Indeed I am.” Roman says as he walks around the cell with her, swinging his cane through his finger as he walks around. “At least physically I am dead, no thanks to you. Really surprised me – that damn Griffin eating me like that. But you must have known that this day would come – me stuck in your head!” He giggles as he sits down beside her, taking his hat off and flicking his dust off.

Fear...he has planted the soul of Roman Torchwick in her mind. “Pretty ironic, you know. How it started with you and me, and now it’s definitely gonna end this way.” He says as he rises up again, looking at the cells. Ruby looks at him as he approaches the bars that block her freedom. “So how are we getting out of this place then, huh?” He asks her, putting his hands on his hips as he looks out.

“What?” Ruby stammers as she sits up, looking at him.

“Well, with you being my body, I think we have to work together now. We can give the world a better Ruby, a harder Ruby, a darker, more –” He stops and looks at her, covering his mouth before he goes any further, probably some scheme plotted in his spectral head. Ruby can hear the faint sounds of his mad laughter during his presence. “Well, we can get back to that later. So _first_ let’s agree on some ground rules – you need to stay alive so then I stay alive as well. We need out of this place Red, and with beloved Oscar freed, how are we getting out? I highly doubt poor Tyrian is gonna be an option after what you did, perhaps Hazel?” He suggests as he paces back and forth, thinking of ideas, just like what she is doing right now. “If being a thief has taught me anything, it’s that there are two important factors of life. Finding an escape route, and keeping yourself alive.” He explains. “You really need to start looking out for yourself, Red.” He says as he grabs the metal bars, looking out the cells.

Roman then turns and looks at the bruised girl. “Besides – you’re brooding for two now.” He says, entering a hysterical fit of giggling where he stands. Ruby looks around, feeling the throbbing pain on her eye where she has been punched, probably by Fear, using Roman as a smokescreen to knock her out. She has a few cuts on her face as well, but she has no other options at the moment.

When she looks back at Torchwick.

He’s gone.

She sighs, pressing her back to the wall and sliding down to the floor, closing her eye.

Like Oscar, their souls have become combined.

Of all the people...it was him.

She hears the faint sound of someone approaching, alongside the pained clicking rasps of some kind of creature. Ruby sees her shadow, her spider-like hair spread out around her head. And then she emerges, for the first time she is actually speaking with her personally. Salem has her hands behind her back and her glowing red eyes look at the single silver eye. Ruby looks away, down at the floor and Salem sighs, standing her ground and she crosses her arms. “You are the most difficult prisoner I have ever met.” Salem says, almost like she admires the girl. Ruby scoffs, staring at her.

“I’d rather you’d get on with it and kill me...” She says with a sigh, looking down at the floor. But Salem does not seem to want this, she touches the black stone imbedded in her forehead with her black nail and she huffs.

“I don’t want to kill you – in truth I do not want to kill all life, I am not like Death.” Salem explains to her, getting Ruby’s attention.

“Then what are you?” Ruby asks.

“I have seen so much pain on Remnant...have lived since the days of Arkhonex...so much war has ravaged this once beautiful world.” She explains, so much information has been missed by Ruby.

Arkhonex

Kragen Nox

The Visionary Books

The Five Knights of Grimm.

Salem reaches into her dark cloak and pulls something out. A gentle looking necklace that she no longer wears, one that once had meaning to her but does not anymore. Her red eyes glow less fierce, the red light flushing through the veins that enter her eyes. There is a lot of pain; a lot of suffering in the eyes that make her look cold and merciless. But unlike Death, she still has a conscience, he has lost his. Perhaps that makes all the difference. “All I have ever wanted is for Remnant to be at piece...it has suffered enough torment...the Great War...Fall of Arkhonex, and thousands of wars before that.” She explains. The necklace has similar engravings as the Spring Maiden’s had, however...

Her’s has a snowflake instead of a flower.

Ruby can see the pain in her. She clutches the necklace tight and then hides it away again. The staffs are not with her, they are still at her throne, carrying the Relics. Whatever she intends to do, she needs all four of them to complete her plan. And two of them are missing, and they seem to believe that one is not at Vacuo, but on the Volcanic Chain Isles. “Then why are you using the Grimm? They are forces of war, of pain.” Ruby questions, and Salem smiles, looking at her.

“Are they?” She asks and Ruby finds herself searching for the answer. Salem lowers her hand and she places her hand against the wall when she speaks again. “The Grimm do not seek war – the Brother of Darkness created them to bring an end to war, because all life that his older brother created would kill, burn the forests and leave nothing more than suffering in their wake.” She explains and Ruby stares at her.

“You are Grimm – why don’t you want to do it their way?” Ruby interrogates, unaware of the truth of Salem.

“I am not Grimm...at least...I was not born this way.” Salem explains.

“What?” Ruby asks.

“I was _made_ this way...tales have changed over the years. The friend your allies have found – Kragen Nox – he was a good man, but he has heard one of the false stories.” She explains, staring up at the fractured moon above them. Ruby stands up and walks over to the bars, looking at the woman she has always seen as the Devil in physical form. Never did she expect this kind of conversation to be had with her enemy.

“What happened?” Ruby asks her innocently. Salem does not answer, only states one thing when she looks at Ruby.

“It is a shame that we need to use you – if I had a choice, I would have let you have a quick end.” She explains.

“Why do you hate the Silver Eyed Warriors?” Ruby presses.

“I don’t.” She answers and Ruby stops.

She then looks Ruby right in the eyes. “It’s because of who you serve.” Salem snarls, her eyes glowing bright red, and she presents an emotion that she has never seen. Hatred, but not of Ruby.

“I don’t serve anyone; I just want to save the world.” Ruby says but Salem smiles, sensing the naivety in the girl’s voice.

“Then why are you helping your Uncle who serves him?” She asks and Ruby pauses, realising that she is right.

Ozpin...

“Did...Professor Ozpin do this to you?” Ruby asks, and Salem stands there. She does not give a definite answer before walking away.

She only says one thing.

“Do not trust him, Miss Rose.” Salem says, the Seer following her with haunting clicking sounds as it follows her.

Ruby is overflowing with answerless questions, about the man that she looked up to. _What did he do? Why does Salem despise him? What secrets are being kept from them?_

_And does Qrow know?_

_Does even Glynda or the other members of the Inner Circle know about this?_

And Kragen is wrong...

About what?

 

Hours pass...

The young girl is asleep, and she hears the sound of someone banging on the metal poles with something metallic and sharp.

When she opens her eye, she sees who is stood outside. Fuelled with anger, blood leaking from the injury on his face that she gave him. Tyrian, the Salem Eye burned into his skull where she attacked him and he has the camera in one hand and a blade extended in the other. But there is no smirk.

Just hate.

Ruby sighs, leaning her head back against the wall.

“Well crap.” She sighs.

 

**Oscar**

Oscar looks at his two friends; the terrified man on the floor after Kassius nearly sawed his head in half. They are both speechless to see the boy there after he went missing and Yang is the first one to actually speak to him. “Oscar?” Yang whispers with disbelief, seeing the boy before her eyes.

“Hey...” He greets with a nervous smile.

“How the – how did you get here?” Kassius questions, stammering with confusion. Oscar remains sat down, attempting to find an answer for them. So much happened back at Salem’s Sanctum that it is pretty difficult for him to really point at where to start. So he closes his eyes and then starts at the beginning.

“Ruby had a plan to get out – but it fell apart at the end.” He sighs when he explains and they listen.

“Tell us everything – what happened?” Kassius asks as he pulls a chair out and sits down, crossing his hands together. Yang sits down as well, Junior left in the corner to wait until the conversation is done. Oscar is extremely nervous and confused, his mind still stunned from the methods of teleportation. Not entirely something that someone would just magically get used to one day. He shudders and then he thinks, his mind constantly on Ruby, and so is Yang’s. However Kassius just needs answers, and he will stay focused on that instead. Oscar takes an inhale and he opens his hazel eyes, looking at them both.

“Fear captured me, Death got Ruby and we were held at her base – it looked like hell.” He explains with a terrified voice. “I thought it was hell at one point...”

“Why?” Kassius asks, hoping he can figure out where this place is.

“The land was scorched – sky was deep purple and it was night all the time, huge purple dust crystals, biggest crystals I have ever seen.” Oscar explains and they both look at each other nervously. Purple dust is extremely rare, so rare that its properties are unknown. That and the infamous Black Dust, a crystal that has only been seen once in history. Nobody knows what the Black Dust Crystal is capable of, since that one individual...was killed by the dust.

The properties of Purple Dust have been theorized to bring extreme destruction wherever they might be used. In other words, if Salem has access to an entire landscape where the stuff is sticking out of the ground, then they might also be completely outgunned as well. Purple Dust has also been nicknamed – Shadow Dust.

Kassius pushes his fingers together and he looks at him. “What happened next?” He asks him.

“We never really spoke to Salem much...she hardly ever visited.” Oscar explains. “But I saw her.”

“You saw Salem?” Yang asks with a nervous voice. They’ve all heard of the villain but have never laid eyes on her. Her heart is pounding, knowing that her little sister is amongst the many circles of hell right now.

“What does she look like?” Kassius asks.

“Human.” He answers. “Pale skin, red eyes, white hair...but she is not in control there, she is losing the control of her own people to Death and the other Knights.” Oscar explains to them and Kassius chuckles, pushing his fingers through his brown hair. It is getting more and more complicated by the minute.

“What about Ruby?” Yang asks.

“Well, Tyrian had been torturing her...I don’t know if Salem told him to or not...he made a tape and I think he sent it to you. I heard the horrors he said to her, and he was going to do it again to her when he tried to escape.” Oscar explains, feeling even more guilt in his heart for being able to escape, unaware if she did or not. Yang covers her mouth with horror and Oscar looks at her, realising how hard this must be for her to hear this.

“We got the message.” Kassius says for her as she stammers, nearly crying at the imagination of how terrified she must have been. When really, she has been so defiant against them lately that Tyrian just flat out hates her now. And Salem seems to admire how strong she is, along with Death.

Oscar looks at Yang, seeing the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Yang...I’m so sorry.” He says to her, hoping it might make her feel better. Fat chance of it, but he is simply a boy who is out to help people. Unlike their many enemies that outnumber them, and outgun them as well.

“No, it’s okay...just keep going.” She says, wiping the tear from her eye. Oscar obliges, and then he moves onto how strong she was.

“Well, she wasn’t scared of Tyrian.” He begins, which makes them look at her with amazement. “She didn’t really help her case, she refused to be afraid and she challenged him constantly, and the Knights.” He says.

“That sounds like her.” Yang giggles.

“Nuckel-Head.” Kassius chuckles, making the wordplay of Knucklehead and Nuckelavee combined.

“Then there was the Liar’s Dice game.” Oscar sighs when he looks down at the floor. They both feel their fear rising up, the grief in his voice. Expecting it to relate to Ruby but in fact it surrounds the loss of Mercury Black. His sacrifice he made to save her life, someone who was once his enemy. But the Knights made him become so afraid that he refused to let them win, and he bravely gave his life to save her.

To no avail other than Oscar’s freedom.

“Wait, what?” Yang questions.

“Emerald showed us the game that the Knights play for fun, a game of liars dice with prisoners, their lives on the line on the chances of the dice.” Oscar explains. “Ruby challenged Death to a game, and he joined in...He threatened to kill Salem at one point, and I have never seen her so afraid. Before the game started, Mercury joined in the game and he put his own life on the line. She was gonna lose, but he made sure that it wouldn’t end that way, and he made a claim that was impossible to be true for his favour, and Death knew it.” Oscar explains.

Yang’s eyes are wide; the same Mercury Black that was responsible for Team R.W.B.Y’s disqualification in the Vytal Tournament and was an accomplice to the Fall of Beacon...helped Ruby? Gave his life? She cannot believe what she is hearing, it all sounds too good to be true. “Wh-What happened next?” Yang asks, on the edge of her seat.

“One time, Tyrian went to attack me, and my semblance was triggered...I’m able to manipulate time, stop it...pretty much.” Oscar explains, causing their eyes to widen with disbelief.

“Makes sense why Ozpin sees potential in you, that makes you very powerful.” Kassius points out.

“When I told Ruby, she thought of a plan. She knew that Tyrian wanted to torture her some more soon, so she waited for him to come to her cell, when he opened the door she attacked him and stole the keys, locking him in the cell. She freed me as well and we made our escape.” Oscar explains, remembering it all like it is happening right now before his eyes. They are both hanging on every word that he tells them. “But when we were running, we literally ran into Death. Mercury and Emerald helped us though, kept him distracted while we fled...and when we ran...we found a room...nightmare fuel.” Oscar stammers as he remembers Tyrian’s Trophy Room.

“What room?” Kassius inquires.

“A Trophy Room...Tyrian’s Trophy Room...of Silver Eyed Warriors.” He tells them and Yang begins to hyperventilate from terror for her sister’s safety. It all sounds worse and worse for her.

“Perhaps it would be best not to fill her in on the details.” Ozpin advises in his head, and Oscar agrees with the ethereal voice. He ignores the...gory details of what he saw in there and continues on to when Ruby got some payback on the savage animal that attacked her. He sits there, remembering it all.

“Tyrian managed to get out and he followed us there and he locked us in, but Ruby was smart. When he attacked, she managed to get him in the eye with a branding iron, did some really bad damage to his face.” Oscar explains and Kassius can’t help but applaud her for that, and Yang just keeps listening.

“That’s the Ruby I remember.” He chuckles.

“What next?” Yang asks, staying on subject.

“We were running and we got outside, and Death was there...he killed Mercury in front of us.” He says and their eyes widen at the news. He kept his promise, and he claimed the soul that was his to collect. Yang covers her mouth with shock, knowing that Mercury is dead. She never wanted him dead, just punished, brought to justice. But in this world, this cold merciless world of Remnant, some lives are not granted the honourable death that they deserve.

“At least his tried.” Kassius says with respect to the soul of Mercury that has been taken. Another life gone from the hands of a Knight. At this rate he will have a higher kill count than any of them.

“We tried to run, but Death split us up. This – thing – followed me and it would have got me...if not for Hazel.” He says and their eyes widen. They know of him, they had to fight him a couple times.

“Hazel?” Yang inquires.

“Yep, he saved me and opened a portal, which sent me here. I don’t know if Ruby found an escape...I hope that she did though.” He explains, finishing his story about everything he saw there. They all feel like they have been filled in on some extremely important stuff. Kassius stands up; he still has his own unfinished business. He turns and looks at Yang.

“Yang, get him back to the Architect and the others. We need to fill him in on everything and help him recover.” Kassius explains, but Yang stands there, shaking her head.

“I don’t think so; I’m helping you finish this.” Yang says to him.

“He needs to get to –” Before Kassius can say _safety_ , Oscar stands up.

“I have just been in the hands of our enemies...I think I can handle a trip to...wherever it is we’re going.” Oscar says with a shrug, extremely uninformed on what they have been doing.

“Yeah, we’d better tell you what we’re doing here, shouldn’t we?” Yang guesses as she scratches the back of her head.

“We know where the girl is who sold my team out and got them killed, and I want some payback.” Kassius explains swiftly, standing up and walking out the door. He looks down at Junior and he stands back up. Junior looks him in the eyes and Yang walks out with Oscar, both look at Kassius. “Looks like it’s your lucky day.” Kassius states.

Yang and Oscar walk past Kassius. “Yeah, I hope we can do this again _real_ soon.” Junior says. Kassius’ eye twitches and Hyde gets one little thought in his mind.

“Wouldn’t hurt to...hit him?” Hyde suggests.

Kassius agrees, and he sends his head flying into Junior’s knocking him onto the floor. Yang looks at Kassius as he walks over to them. “I didn’t shoot him.” He excuses.

 

**Kassius**

Sometime later...

Kassius, Yang and Oscar make their way across the rooftops towards the area where they should be meeting with Ilia. It is the Market District, the same one where they spoke to Sidewinder before it all fell apart. They can still see his market stand where he would try and make a decent living in the meantime. Kassius holds his rifle in his hand and he crouches down, with things on his mind as he stands there. He shakes his head with annoyance. “Junior’s a goddamn menace! We shouldn’t have let him go, he deserved to be punished.” Kassius says to Yang and she looks at him, concern in her lilac eyes and Oscar also has his concerns. He also saw Kassius cracking earlier.

“I’m getting a little worried about you, Kas.” Yang says to him honestly, leading to him looking at her.

“You don’t think he deserved it?” He questioned.

“You nearly sawed his head in half.” Yang argues.

“He shot you.” Kassius responds, looking at the bandage that they managed to put around her arm. It has made her better and it looks like it never happened, but he still remembers the moment.

“Yeah, but you can’t like Hyde take you over like that.” She whispers to him and Oscar looks at them both.

“Um...Hyde?” He asks.

“We’ll explain it later.” Kassius assures.

“Okay.” Oscar agrees, staying quiet.

“I guess I’m just trying to say – it wasn’t like you, Kas.” Yang says to him, the trio waiting for a sign of Ilia. Kassius stares down the scope.

“What do you want from me, Yang? What would you do if someone betrayed you?” Kassius catechises, almost sternfully. But Yang is not one to take offence.

“I dunno, but I wouldn’t let it change me.” Yang answers, despite Emerald and Mercury, but they were not as close of friends as Ilia once was to his team.

“I would have said the same thing _before_ it happened to me.” Kassius responds.

“It’s not too late; you don’t have to go through with this.” Yang says to him, holding his hand, but he pulls his hand away. His mind is so focused on vengeance he is retracting any kind of distraction. Again, Yang is thick-skinned, so she does not let that dig too deep into her emotions.

“Who’s going to bring Ilia Amitola to justice if I don’t? Nobody else knows about what he’s done, nobody else cares.” He coldly, but truthfully, says. But Yang is more than that, and he knows it. “I don’t see any other options, not one.” Kassius tells her.

“ _I_ care.” She says to him, and he sighs.

“I know you do...but this is for me.” Kassius says.

“Give me a chance, let me try and talk to her.” Yang asks of him.

“Talk all you want, but it’s not gonna change my mind. I don’t care what her reasons were, she screwed us all! She deserves to die for what happened to them.” He snarls with anger, his cybernetic hand tensing into a fist. “I lost my arm, lost Rajah, Draven and...Vetra.” He says, his eyes closing when he says her name. He might love Yang, but he never got to say goodbye, never got closure with Vetra. And he watched her die in the most horrific way; saw her corpse decay in a couple of seconds when Death turned up.

“I understand your reasons, but do you really want to kill her?” Yang asks.

“I appreciate your concern, Yang...but I’m not you.” Kassius says, and she looks at him.

“This isn’t _you_ either.” Yang states and Kassius chuckles.

“Really?” He questions. “Orphan, convict, failed Leader...I’ve always hated injustice...the idea that Ilia could get away with this? Why should she go on with her life whilst three others lie in unmarked graves?” Kassius inquires. “I’m sorry, Yang, but words aren’t gonna solve this problem.” He says to her. He sighs and he looks around the area, identifying the perfect vantage point. And he can see one, a place underneath a destroyed billboard. He can be easily concealed in its shadows, and it is the perfect shot. “I can get a clear, disguised, shot from over there.” He points out, pointing at it. Yang looks at him.

“What would you like me to do?” Yang asks.

“Nothing, she’d recognise you.” Kassius states.

“She might listen, though.” Kassius says, Oscar looks between them, and a crazy thought hits him.

“What if I stand there first? She hasn’t seen my face.” Oscar suggests, and they both look at the young boy. It is true...

“That could work, she would come out and then I talk to her.” Yang says.

“Just keep her still so I can get the shot.” Kassius says, standing up and walking towards his vantage point. Oscar and Yang hop down from the building and they walk towards the centre of the town where they should be meeting with her. Oscar walks out first, Yang taking cover behind a dumpster.  Kassius looks through the high powered scope of his sniper rifle, observing the scene beneath him and he lays down, ready to take the shot when she is still. She is in the shadows, looking at Oscar, and he waves her over. She emerges from the darkness, walking towards him. She is low down, extremely nervous and on edge. “Keep her talking.” Kassius requests to Oscar over the radio in his ear.

Ilia walks over to Oscar. “Didn’t expect someone so young to work for Blackjack.” Ilia says, sounding concerned.

“He thought a kid like me would be less suspicious.” Oscar fabricates to make her believe him.

“Alright, let’s just get this over with.” She says. She turns and looks at Yang who emerges from where she was hiding, her eyes widen when she walks over.

“Yang?” Ilia gasps.

“Ilia listen, you know who I am to Kassius, and I’m here to help you.” Yang truthfully says when walking towards her, and Ilia is becoming more scared the more she stands there.

“Yang? What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke?” Ilia pries with fear.

“Damn it, Yang! If she runs, I’m taking the shot!” Kassius argues. Ilia hears his voice on the earpiece and she backs up.

“You’re not kidding, are you?” Ilia asks with fear, and Yang just looks at her with an emotionless stare. “Screw this; I’m not sticking around to find out. Tell Kassius I had my own problems.” Ilia attempts to flee but Yang grabs her wrist, pulling her back towards her, standing in front of Kassius’ shot. Ilia rips her hand from Yang’s. “Get off me!” Ilia yells.

“I am the only thing standing between you and a bullet in the head.” Yang explains coldly and her eyes widen with fear.

“Shit...” Ilia groans, looking down at the floor. She starts to stammer, knowing that Kassius _will_ kill her if she does not explain herself. “Look – I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t have a choice!” She whimpers with fear.

“Everyone has a choice.” Kassius growls vengefully.

“They got to me! Beat me, tortured me to arrange a meeting...some sort of Assassin...and this guy, he was rotten and horrible looking...made me see my worst nightmares! What was I supposed to do?” Ilia questions, her voice trembling with her body. All three express their emotions the same way, eyes widening.

“Fear was behind it?” Kassius mumbles to himself. He shakes the thought off; however; he has worked too hard to let this opportunity go now. “Let me take the shot, Yang! She’s a damn coward!” Kassius begs through the radio. But Yang stands her ground, walking with Ilia to keep Kassius from taking the shot. And she knows that he would never endanger her by risking a shot like that. He knows he could easily hit Ilia, but he does not want to risk her life like that.

“So that’s it? You were just trying to save yourself?” Yang interrogates.

“He said he wanted something in Kassius...something inside him...a game-changer.” She explains, referencing Mr Hyde – his semblance – his curse. Ilia walks over to a fountain that no longer works and she looks down at the placid water, looking at her own reflection. “I know what I did...I know that they’re dead because of me.” Ilia admits where she stands and Kassius listens to her through the radio. “And I’ll have to live with that, ever day for the rest of my life. I wake up every night, sick...and sweating, each of their faces staring at me, accusing me. They were my closest friends, the only people that decided to trust me after I fled the White Fang like Blake.” Ilia explains and Kassius starts to think, actually having second thoughts.

“I’m already a dead woman – I don’t sleep, food has no taste anymore...some days, some days I just want it all to be over with.” She sighs, wanting Kassius to take the shot now after spilling the truth on them. Yang looks at where Kassius is and he has his finger on the trigger.

But he can’t pull it.

He just can’t.

The whispers grow in his head, however. “What are you waiting for? She is right in front of you! She took everything from you, get your revenge!” Mr Hyde pushes, trying to force him into pulling that trigger. The cold metal against his print, the cold air brushing against his face.

But when he stands there...he sees something he never saw before.

Instead of their bodies, he sees the good times. The great missions they had, the fun training missions. The night that he and Vetra became close, during a sparring match after her mother died in an accident outside of Mistral. He comforted her...and one thing led to another. He even sees the fun that they had with Ilia, helping her open her heart to the world, and then what happened.

He has a choice; he could either do it now, end her life and avenge them. Or move on, and be with the very thing that stands in front of him.

And Yang tests him.

She simply takes a step back, a simple step back that he could do it.

Kassius has his eyes set on Ilia and he notices how she closes her eyes, waiting for the gunshot. He rests his finger on the trigger, and the memories keep on flashing in his eyes. Along with Hyde trying to force him to do it. Like an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. “If you don’t do it now, you will never get another chance!” Hyde whispers in the back of his mind. But again, he starts to see the great times that they had together with Ilia. A time at a bar when they got really drunk one time and were kicked out for being underage. But they didn’t regret it.

He could do it...

...right now...

He pulls the trigger and there is a loud bang. Ilia jumps, but the bullet never hits her, it hits the top of the mountain and shatters upon impact, shards of concrete falling on the floor and water. Ilia looks at where she saw the flash, the gunshot echo travelling far. She sees him stand tall and he drops the rifle from the roof, letting it break as it hits the floor. She looks into his eyes as he stands there. “Go.” Kassius tells her and she steps away from the fountain.

“I’ll make it up to you, somehow...Kassius...I swear.” Ilia says and he just nods. Ilia looks at Yang with one last message. “Thank you...for talking to him.” Ilia says and Yang nods, and they part ways, walking away from one another.

Kassius jumps down and he walks towards Yang who has a smile on her face. “I know you want to talk about this – but I don’t – not yet.” Kassius says to her, like he sounds embarrassed about proving her right.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but I think you did the right thing.” Yang says to him honestly. He walks around the area, sighing.

“I’m not so sure...” He responds.

“Give it time.” Yang advises.

“Yeah, maybe that’ll be enough.” Kassius sighs, walking around the area. “I want to know I did the right thing, not just by me, but by my team. They deserved to be avenged, but when I had Ilia in my sights – I just couldn’t do it.” He says, like he is ashamed, despite that he shouldn’t feel this way.

“The lines between friend and foe become very blurry when looking at people we know.” Yang says wisely.

“Yeah, there was still good in her. I could see it.” Kassius agrees. “So much easier to look at the world in black and white – grey...I don’t know what to do with grey.” Kassius sighs, looking down at the floor.

“You’ve gotta go with your instincts.” Yang tells him.

“My instincts were what got me into this mess in the first place.” Kassius retorts. Yang smiles and she holds his hands, looking up at his eyes.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Yang whispers, then caressing his cheek. She makes sure to keep her hand on the clean side of his face, no scar damage to harm him.

“Thank you Yang...for everything.” Kassius says.

Oscar walks over to them as they look into each other’s eyes lovingly. “Now what?” Oscar asks. Kassius puts his finger to his earpiece, contacting the Architect back at Raven’s Headquarters.

“Yes?” The Architect speaks.

“We’re done here...and we have a friend coming your way. We’ll catch up, send us a portal, get him fed and a bed. He needs it.” Kassius says with a smile, looking at Oscar.

“Where will you two be going?” The Architect asks.

“We have some...unfinished business.” He says, looking at Yang with a smile. The Architect says nothing, and they jump when the portal opens next to them. They all look at it and Oscar looks at them

“Go...we’ll catch up.” Yang assures. Oscar sighs, nodding.

“This is the second time I have been through a portal and left to someone else.” He says with a sigh.

Yang giggles. “Go.” Yang says.

“Alright – I’m going.” He says, walking into the event horizon. He walks in and the portal closes behind him.

Yang looks at Kassius.

“What unfinished business?” Yang asks.

Kassius just points in a direction. Her eyes follow his finger and she gasps.

Bumblebee is still there with his bike.


	30. The Lord of the Wood

**Qrow**

 

 He narrowly avoids the wrath of Fury’s Axe when swung at him, the unhallowed roars of the Knight travel across the dunes of the Vacuo Desert, or the Anxuarian Desert. Qrow jumps backwards, guiding his fingers through the warm sand as he slides down the dune. Fury snarls, stepping onto the top of the dune, glaring down at him as his burning cape blows in the wind. Raven screams, swinging her Odachi directly at him. Fury steps back, avoiding it and spinning round with his axes, narrowly missing her face with the burning edges, she ducks back, feeling the heat brushing across her cheek. Her long black hair dancing with her acrobatic movements. Winter projects a glyph and slams her sword into the sand, blasting a line of spiked ice blades rising from the sand itself. Fury rolls out of the way and starts to run at the Schnee. Fury may not be as knowledgeable with fighting as the others, but his aggressiveness can make him extremely unpredictable, and he is the toughest of them to bring down because of his regenerating form.

Qrow gets himself back to his feet and he sees Fury attacking Winter, crackling flames trailing behind his movements, his grunts and snarls echoing across the desert. He looks at his sister and she nods, running to help. Qrow exhales, exhausted from having to fight this much in such a stuffy and hot environment, and especially against an enemy that does not seem to give up. He grabs his sword which he stabbed into the sand, ripping it from the grains and he runs with his sister.

Winter uses her two swords, staggering back from Fury’s savage attacks as he hammers his axes down at her, sparks and flames bursting from every impact. He is pushing her into the sand from his attacks, his molten teeth gritted as he attacks. He roars with rage and then he does not notice the Raven Bird flying towards him from behind. A black cloud of smoke erupts from the body of the Raven and it transforms into Raven’s Human body like an Animagus. She holds Odachi in both hands and lands on his back, driving it straight into his spine. He feels nothing, just looks at the blade and then he laughs. “You never learn, do you?” He scoffs, grabbing the blade and pulling it further into his body. The yanking motion also pulls Raven into his shoulders and her face hits the fire. She screams in pain, falling from his back and on the sand. She presses her hand to her cheek where she was burned and it has blistered and swollen red. Luckily it is nowhere near as bad as Kassius’, but it is still pretty painful for her.

Fury kicks Winter in the chest and stares at Raven on the floor. He starts to walk towards her, his presence is making them angry, and therefore that anger is also making them act irrationally. Giving him the advantage above her. She tries to get back up but Fury gently pushes her onto her back with his foot, looking down at her as she winces in pain. He smirks when he stares down at her. “You are skilled, Miss Branwen – but not skilled enough!” He barks, raising one of the burning axes upwards to bring it down on her chest. Until suddenly Qrow’s sword deflects it and Fury sees him stood in front of her, guarding his sister. Fury chuckles proudly.

“I don’t think so.” Qrow growls with gritted teeth. Fury walks around and he continues to smirk.

“Corvus...so be it...have your resolution.” Fury challenges, the fire burning hotter on the blades of his axes. Qrow stands there and he now has to challenge the Knight on his own. Winter is weakened and Raven is hurt. He is the only one that can do it, the sand blows around them as they stand there.

Then they both run at each other and Qrow swings the sword hard at the axes of Fury. Fury swings both and they lock against his sword, pressing against him, eyes burning bright as he stares down at him. Qrow glares at the volcanic knight, his skin sweating from the extreme heat let off his form. “We will stop you.” Qrow promises. Fury chuckles at his threat, staring at him.

“Say you do – what will you do when we are defeated? You’ve lost your beloved Rose, your daughter will not survive past the Isles...you will have nothing!” Fury growls at him, taunting him with those he has lost.

“Shut up!” Qrow bellows, twisting his sword from the axes that grip and hold them in that interlocked position. He spins round and slices across Fury’s right eye. Fury sharply barks with pain as the lava leaks from his face and embers pour into the wind from the cut open bark. He stares straight at Qrow and forms a fireball in his hand when releasing an axe, throwing the ball of flames straight at him. Qrow dives into a roll, just avoiding the explosive that throws the sand high into the sky. He sprints at Fury and he pushes the tip of his sword towards Fury, who still has his sister’s Odachi impaled through his chest. He forms his other axe and immediately goes to swing horizontally at him. Qrow transforms into his Crow form to fly past the Knight and then reforms behind him, swinging the sword up his back. The Knight roars in pain, staggering backwards and his wound already starts to heal.

Without Winter he has no hope to destroy his body, he needs to get her back on her feet. “I can feel the anger inside of your – you failed to save your beloved, failed to save your daughter – and now you will fail to save Remnant.” Fury speaks menacingly. Qrow feels his mind dangling on the edge of rage, the presence of the Knight working its way into his body. Qrow hits harder and faster but he is not thinking as he fights, making mistakes, ones that Fury can spot a mile away. He grabs Qrow’s blade and then sends his burning boot flying into his chest, knocking him backwards.

Winter groans as she starts to regain her strength, her Aura Regenerating, her eyes focus on the battle across the sand from her. Her blue eyes widen, noticing the injured Raven Branwen on the sand, and Qrow on his own. Qrow has resorted to self-preservation attempts now, with Fury throwing his sword away and constantly going in for the kill. Every time he smashes the axe down, Qrow manages to roll out of his path, but the more he does it, the more exhausted he will become. A flaw that a Spectral Knight does not have to worry about, for he is already dead. Winter pushes her hands against the warm sand to get back up, her eyes welling up from the hot air that presses up against them. She grips her hands onto the swords that lay on the floor, the blades scraping across the sand. One who is used to icy cold weather – Winter is struggling in this thick, hot desert. She spins her blades through her fingers and then forms a Glyph.

A quadrant of icicles blast into the sky and then they rain down into the body of Fury, the blades of ice puncture into his armour and he grunts with pain as one of them smashes into the back of his burning head. The fire starts to extinguish from the cold but the icicles are also melting. Qrow takes his chance, clenching his hand into a fist and striking the Knight across the face. No other option, by the time he gets to his sword Fury could already be reignited again. Fury staggers back from the punches as Qrow hits him over and over again. Chunks of pumice crack and are blown from portions of his molten skull. He then jumps in the air and kicks him into the blade of Winter. Winter misses by a hair's breadth the red blade that is still wedged in the torso of Fury. “Whoa!” She yelps, jumping backwards, shifting into a backwards cartwheel. She looks at Qrow for answers of why there is a sword sticking out of his chest. “That was too close!” She calls out.

“Sorry!” Qrow calls.

Raven groans with pain, sand stuck against her body and in her black hair. She opens her large red eyes to see Qrow and Winter fighting Fury and the pumice begins to glow red again as he heats his form up. She is weak...but she has a plan...

Winter slices her blades across the arms of the Knight but the magma has already returned to full strength, he clenches his once solidified hand into a fist, the pumice shattering and falling into the sand. Fury glares at the Schnee Girl with hatred in his eyes, the fire collar growing back around his body. “The Snowflake...” He growls as he forms his axes again after being frozen in place by the pumice.

“Lava Man.” She retorts, pointing her swords at him. Fury grits his teeth – hard to tell if it was a grin or a scowl, they both look exactly the same on his face. He paces across the sand dunes, keeping them both in his sights.

“I sense there is something connecting you both.” He begins, aiming to crumble their resolve with something. “An old anger that one of you created...and old love?” He wonders, circling them both with the fire trailing from the axes.

“I have no idea of what you’re talking about.” Winter dismisses.

“Really? Then why do your pheromones tell me otherwise?” Fury inquires with a tilted head. She looks down at the sand and they both realise that he knows and he is cutting deep with a past that they once had. Raven is trying to get back up but she is still in pain from what just happened. Then he realises when he sees the way that they look at each other, a smirk appearing on his face.

He stops and then a menacing laugh emerges from Fury’s jaws. “Oh...I see...” He chuckles menacingly. “I might not be as good at reading people like Fear is, but I am not blind to betrayal.” He chuckles and she looks at him as he walks closer to her face, towering above her. He bends down to look her in the eyes and then at Qrow.

Winter stands there, feeling afraid and angry at the same time. “What did you do, Corvus?” He questions, looking at him with an evil smirk on his face. “Your rose was not enough so you decided to try the snowflake?” He presumes and he looks away from Fury.

“We had a one night stand...except he never told me that it was only going to be that.” Winter explains to Fury and Fury roars with laugher, walking away from Winter, burning the sand as he walks.

“Now it all makes sense!” Fury guffaws.

Not very long ago, Qrow and Winter were both on a mission together to investigate some findings on Salem to try and get some answers. They both ended up at a tavern and Qrow and her got pretty drunk one night and ended up waking up in the same bed. Winter came to and she was alone and Qrow abandoned her there, continuing on the path and causing her to return to Atlas as she could not track him down to catch up.

Ever since she has been bitter.

“You couldn’t help yourself! Could you, Qrow?” He questions with his axe wielding hands behind his burning back.

“It wasn’t like that – you wouldn’t understand.” Qrow states to the Knight.

“Oh I think I do – why do you think she was so overcome by anger when she saw you again at Beacon Academy?” He asks them both and their eyes widen in realisation back to the clash that they had. Fury smirks as he stands before them. Qrow thinks back to the courtyard and he does not remember all of it because of how drunk he was...

...but there was a weird feeling of anger in the air at that point. From how Ironwood was acting, Weiss’ attitude at times was overly negative...

...all but Ruby, himself and Ozpin were seemingly calm. He looks at Fury after realising.

_Fury was there!_

He must have been hidden somewhere, spreading a faint form of anger throughout the school to get people angry. Therefore, sparking that battle between him and Winter. Qrow looks at Fury as he stands there. “What about the Fall of Beacon? Was Fear there to spread all that panic?” He asks him on a potential theory.

“We were there in some form.” He assures with a smile. “All present and outside of your view in a realm of which you do not recognise us.” He explains and it sends shivers down their spines. Fear was there to spread the trepidation on Penny’s death and Mercury’s leg being broken by Yang. They helped Cinder without her even realising – they have not just now returned, they have only decided to make their existence fully known recently. Only appearing to certain people at certain times. Like Fear with Raven and Death with Qrow and Summer.

They have probably been responsible for so many things that have happened...without their previous enemies even knowing it.

Qrow is shocked by this realisation, and Fury holds his weapons tight. But Fury is not finished yet, his wings unfold from the infernal cape and he grits his jagged teeth together. “Come then – lovers reunited, your time for resurgence is here.” He promises, and then he attacks.

He swings the two axes forward as his wings flap and the blast throws him towards them. He swings them crossways to cut them both in half. Winter forms a Glyph that deflects the attack but all that Qrow has is his sword. He holds it up to protect himself, and the impact impels Qrow backwards across the sand. He drags his hand through it but unlike soil, it does not help him as well. He continues to slide down the sand and Fury turns his attention to the Schnee. She jumps high in the air after using a propelling Glyph, soaring her into the sky. Fury growls with chagrin and with his wings he flies into the air to chase her, like the Angel of Annihilation, he glides towards her with a trail of fire behind him. He immediately swings one of the Axes at her, and she detonates a glyph in front of him that forces him backwards. He spreads his wings out, a flash of fire that rings across the desert from his swift movement, holding his arms out with the axes held tight. Winter thinks hard whilst in the air and she develops a Glyph beneath her, one she can use as a platform. With his burning wings stretched outwards like that, it makes him look so much bigger than he usually is. His eyes are glowing brighter as well, mirages surround his body like an Aura Shield. She looks up at the Knight and he dives towards her, swinging the axe at her.

She smiles, targeting the wing with her blades. She jumps and slashes both through the wing after coating her blades with icy dust to make the attack that much more dangerous. She just misses the red blade that protrudes through him and she cuts clean through the wing, severing it from his body. A deafening roar of pain bursts from Fury’s jaws and he crashes against Winter, causing her to plummet as well. Qrow’s eyes widen when he sees her falling and he runs for her, jumping and catching her before she hit the ground. He slides across the sand and looks at her. “You know...I never did apologise for that.” Qrow says to her and she smiles gently.

“It’s alright; we can talk about it later.” She says.

They both look and they see Fury crashing through a dune and rolling across the floor. He snarls, smashing his fist into the sand and turning to face them with the sand melting around his body, the blade of Raven’s Odachi still imbedded in his chest. He rises back up and walks towards them, forming the Axes that he released. The wing returns back to the cape form and eventually the pumice melts back into lava that surrounds him. “Good idea, talk later.” Qrow says, standing her up and he picks up his sword, pointing it forward and she holds her swords, standing next to Qrow.

“Even if you find your daughter, even if you save her, she will not survive the coming Calamity!” Fury bellows, sprinting directly at them. Qrow runs towards him as well and Winter follows him.

“We’ve beaten the odds before!” Qrow shouts and he swings his sword across the Knight’s flank. But something becomes very clear...

With Raven still out of the fight right now, Qrow’s Semblance has become unbalanced. Without her good luck, his bad luck reigns. That will be good against Fury, but very bad for Winter. And on cue, she zooms towards Fury and he snatches her by the throat after she launched ice into his hand, causing him to drop the axe. He holds her off the sand, staring into her eyes with hatred. “Winter!” Qrow yells, running towards her, but Fury swings rounds and smacks Qrow in the chest with his Axe. If his aura were not strong, he would be dead...but now his aura has fully depleted. He groans with pain, the red rush of energy passing across his body. He looks up at Winter, his eyes widening with anguish for he cannot save her from him.

Not again...

Fury’s hand begins to heat up and he does not stop glaring at her.

Winter feels the heat coming...

“It will all be over soon – in a fiery embrace. Don’t worry; you can catch up with the guy you have feelings for shortly...for he will join you. Along with the rest of this pathetic cycle!” Fury snarls with hatred, tightening his grip.

Until his eyes widen and he grunts with pain, they both notice the Odachi wedged in him beginning to jolt. The red blade shifts into cyan blue and the magma freezes into pumice and he feels the pain now, growling from the feeling. The pumice spreads across his body like some kind of disease. He looks down, and suddenly the blade is thrown straight upwards into the sky, carving through the armoured body with ease. The blade narrowly misses Winter’s cheek as it slices through Fury’s head. The fire and embers burst from his body, slicing the top-half of his body clean in two, causing the halves to hang down by his sides, staggering back. As he moves aside, wailing in agony, they see Raven stood there, the side of her face red from the burn, a few marks that will heal easily. Winter spots the fire on each side reaching for one another, attempting to pull the body back together. Her eyes widen and he forms a glyph, blasting a blizzard of ice into his body, cooling the magma down to the point where he has become pumice inside and out. Fury growls with pain, reaching for Qrow and Winter with hatred in his eyes and Qrow stands there, staring at the Knight who has been mutilated, his hand stopping right at his face, still conscious.

Qrow holds his sword by the hilt, extremely tight with anger in his body. “I will never let you touch the people I care for, not while I still live.” Qrow promises. Fury growls with anger, destroying the body will not kill Fury, but it will send a message.

That they can beat them.

Qrow takes his sword and swings it downwards at a forty five degree angle, straight through his pumice frozen body, causing the statue to shatter like glass into thousands of pieces that all tumble into the sand with force, breaking into more and more crumbs of pumice that roll down the dunes. Other dust particles from his body are carried off into the desert wind, fading away and his axes hit the ground, the flames extinguishing and they too turn to dust, carried off with him. Qrow exhales with relief, they finally destroyed that form. “That’s not the last of him...you know that right?” Raven asks, her hand on her burnt cheek. Qrow looks at her and he nods.

“Yeah...I know...still felt good though.” He tells her, looking at Winter with an awkward smile. Their history has been revealed, the Knights have a knack for doing this, especially with Qrow.

“The Knights really have no respect for personal privacy, do they?” Winter laughs at the circumstance.

Qrow chuckles. “No they really don’t.”

 

**Ren**

Fear is still here, despite sending a clone to handle Ruby in the process, he walks around with Formido Falcem in his hand, using the huge Scythe like a walking cane as he moves. His golden eyes looking at where they are both hiding. Ren holds Nora close, her head against his chest as she shakes with fear, Ren is able to keep the fear back but Nora is struggling. Fear walks over to where they are hiding. “Well – now that the matter back home has been dealt with, where was I?” Fear asks as he walks around the bunker that they hide in, surrounded by ancient books and tomes. Ren decides to be the one to have a witty comment instead of the terrified Nora.

“You were talking about Kragen.” Ren responds and Fear snaps his fingers.

“Ah yes! Thank you for reminding me.” Fear humbly replies. He walks further, the chill of his presence is constant, their hairs standing on end. “Would you care to hear a story about your dear Tutor – Kragen Nox?” Fear asks as he walks around them with the Scythe dragging behind him. Nora looks at the rotten legs as they walk around them.

“I’m guessing you’ll tell us anyway?” Nora asks.

“Right you are.” Fear quickly answers, making Nora roll her eyes with annoyance at his charming personality, which makes him that much more terrifying. He breathes in, his rasped breath echoing through the Library. “Kragen Nox was once a talented Librarian, one who actually worked here and the other Libraries across Remnant, I am sure he has told you that us Knights were once actually mortal like you are?” He guesses.

“Yeah.” Ren answers, caressing his beloved’s hair with his hand to calm her.

“I must admit, of all the people to survive the Fall of Arkhonex, I am glad that it was him because he was always so honour-bound, and you could trust him...to a certain degree.” He explains as he walks around. They listen to every word, to figure out if he is making it up or reciting from memory. “He tell you that he gave the Four Maidens their gifts?”

“Yes.” Nora answers.

“Indeed, well – one of them was sent to forge the Kingdoms by putting an end to the conflict that raged in parts of the land. That was the Winter Maiden’s duty, and she carried it out to the letter, and thus she met a young Arkhoni Boy who would later become a great man. Do you know what that boy’s name was?” He asks them and they do not answer for they cannot think of an individual’s name.

“I – I dunno.” Nora responds.

He stands by the bunker, crossing his arms.

“Ozpin.” He tells them, and their eyes widen with disbelief from the answer. They both look at Fear where he stands for answers.

“Ozpin is an Arkhoni?” They both question at the same time with disbelief in their eyes and voices.

“Ha! You sound surprised, Ozpin has been the Keeper of Secrets for Generations. Like dear old Kragen, he learned how to become immortal through the usage of the Relics, and he vowed to keep them safe, honourable man. And the Winter Maiden vowed to help him, building the many safe havens across Remnant for them to be stored.” Fear explains to them, changing everything they ever thought about him. “Dear old Ozpin saved both the Human Race and the Faunus Race, sacrificing Arkhonex in the process on the other hand. I watched him build it all up, brave man, really is. A hero!” He laughs as he walks, dragging the blade across the floor, sparks dancing from where the blade damages the floor. “But a hero who has made many cold choices, sacrifices, to get to where he is now.” Fear says, looking down at them where they hide from him, putting thoughts in their minds.

“What sacrifices?” Ren inquires. Fear smiles as he walks, Nora notices the smirk and she starts to wonder if he is actually telling the truth – or if he is saying all this to turn them against Ozpin. Then she remembers what she has heard about Fear.

_Fear is a master of lies, illusions and theatrics._

She whispers into Ren’s ear of what she has been thinking. “Don’t listen to him, remember he is a Master of Lies.” She says to him and he nods, but they let him talk to hide what they know, whether or not he has already figured it out.

“What sacrifices did he make?” Ren asks again.

“Family, love, emotion and hundreds of lives to build the kingdoms. Let me tell you a fact right now – he does not care for any of you. You are all simply tools in his mind to get him to the very top of the hierarchy.” Fear explains, and thus they can tell that he is lying to mess with him.

_He would never do that, he is lying._

Fear stops, smirking away as he looks at them. “Lies...aren’t they such a powerful weapon? The question is – how do you know for certain when someone is actually telling the truth?” Fear asks them with a smile and they are left stunned.

He can read minds.

He turns and looks over his shoulder, seeing Qrow, Winter and Raven sprinting towards him, healed up after their victory against Fury. Fear sighs, rolling his golden eyes. “Can’t rely on anyone these days, you’ve got to do _everything_ yourself – don’t we?” He shouts with annoyance, spinning Formido Falcem through his fingers as he prepares to fight them. “I will handle your friends who have come to rescue you from my pure evil clutches! But don’t worry, I have a buddy who can keep you company. I believe that he and sweet Nora are well-acquainted.” Fear says with a smile, slamming the staff downwards with force, creating one hell of a loud crack from the slamming.

Nora turns and her eyes widen when she hears the flock of crows that caw nearby in a cloud of black smoke. The smoke is like a portal, and something emerges with the crows that swarm around it. The crows have glowing red eyes and then the being reveals itself. It stands extremely tall with a pair of glowing red eyes. Its head is that of a Buck’s Skull, huge antlers protruding from it, except one has been broken off. The body looks like that of trees shaped into some kind of body, two razor sharp fingers and one long blade like thumb of black bark. It is deafly silent, staring at Nora and the Crows orbit the being. Her eyes widen and her lip trembles in terror.

It’s the Leshen...

...the same one that tried to catch Oscar back at Salem’s Sanctum. It towers high and has no emotion in its body. Fear smiles as he looks at them, and he salutes them charismatically. “Have fun playing with him.” Fear says, walking towards Qrow, Winter and Raven. They can hear the crashing and booms from the battle that begins not far from them. Ren looks at Nora, seeing her frozen with fear.

“Nora? What’s wrong?” He asks her with a nervous tone. Tears well up from fear in her eyes.

“It’s the same one...” She stammers.

“What is?” He asks her.

“It’s the Lord of the Wood.” Nora whimpers.


	31. The Curse of the Leshen

**Nora**

Thirteen years ago...

A trading wagon trots across the paths of Anima in service of selling goods. The wagon is filled to the very top with supplies, from food to ammunition and other needs that other places need. Hailing from Kuchinashi, they are sending these supplies to other towns along the way. At the front of the carriage, guiding the horses that pull them is a man with blonde hair and brown eyes. He is a muscular man with a hammer next to him, one that looks very similar to Magnhild. Except it is not pink, it is grey with green streaks of pain across the plates. He is a muscular man with some scars on his chest, clearly a Huntsman of some kind. He looks back at his beloved wife; she has orange hair and cyan eyes, tending to a little girl in the back. The wife is wearing a deep green dress, wiping some dirt off her daughter’s face. “I told you that you would make a mess.” The mother says to the small girl who shares the same coloured hair and eyes. She shyly smiles at her parents as the cart continues to move across the trail.

“Sorry, mommy.” The girl sadly says, her head looking down. The mother sighs, her finger touching her chin to pull her head upwards so then she can see her older reflection.

“Nora – you have to be careful out there in the woods. The stories we told you? About the monsters that lurk in there?” She asks her, looking into the dense woodland beside them as they move slowly through. Younger Nora looks at the dark mysterious forest and then at her mother again. “They’re true – there are monsters out there. I just want you to be safe.” She says to her daughter. The father touches her shoulder and looks at him.

“Cyanna...” He says to her. “She knows who we are.”

“I know it’s just...I don’t want her to get hurt out here, Khaki.” Cyanna explains to him, holding his hand as she observes her daughter playing with a tiny wooden hammer that she found in there.

“It’s okay, but there’s no need to scare her of what is out here. She will see them sooner or later, like we did – it would be best for her fear to be rational. Not off stories.” Khaki explains to her. She sighs, closing her bright eyes and then she climbs back over to his side, kissing him along the way. She crosses one leg and she holds his hand. They both share a similar symbol on tattoos that mirror one another. The hammer with the lightning bolt cast through the head of the weapon. The Valkyrie Symbol.

Nora sits there, happily playing with her toy hammer, hitting some tiny nails into the wood with a big smile on her face. Her attention however is stolen from the little nail and hammer, when she hears the sound of crows flying around in the distance. Lots of them, converging on one point. Her eyes widen when she sees it, hearing their caws echo for miles. She tilts her head when she looks at it. Khaki looks up at the sky, seeing the sun beginning to fall behind the mountains, the once blue clear sky turning orange.

“The sun is setting, best make camp.” Khaki says, stopping the horses at a safe spot on the trail and he gets the campfire ready. He had collected lots of dry logs of wood and plenty of materials to light a fire. Along with a tent large enough for all three of them to stay. Khaki lights the fire and they all sit down around it, picking up marshmallows that they have collected. Nora fits one marshmallow onto her twig and she holds it over the fire.

“This is nice.” Cyanna says with a smile on her face, stretching her body out where she sits. Nora continues to cook her mallow and then looks at her parents as they sit there.

“What was it like?” Nora asks them both curiously, and their attentions are peaked.

“What was what like, sweetie?” Cyanna asks her.

“Being heroes?” Nora asks. They both look at each other and they smile at that, the way she asks them so sweetly. Clearly she wants to know what it was like to be Huntsmen and Huntresses.

“It was fun.” Cyanna admits when she looks at her husband. “Scary at times, but fun overall. We made some really good friends at Haven Academy.” She adds to it, remembering the many great adventures that they had when they were younger. Nora is eager, thirsty for stories from them with her eyes open so wide that they would fall from her face and into the flames.

“I remember one time...” Khaki begins, leaning backwards, gazing up at the constellations of stars above him. “...we were tasked with destroying a Beowulf Den that had been preying on a village’s livestock for a few months at this point. They had enough when a Beowulf attacked a villager, only found his remains.” He narrates when he thinks back at the time. Nora sits next to him and he picks her up, sitting her on his lap. She looks up at him in his arms as he tells the story. “So your mom and the rest of our team went searching for the monsters, and we found their den and had one big bout in there. It was tough, but not too much for us to handle.” He explains to her.

“Did you get a medal?” Nora asks him excitedly, bouncing on the spot. Khaki smiles and he pats her on the head.

“No, we just got payment from the village and went back to the Academy for congratulations by ol’ Lionheart.” Khaki tells her and she shakes her head with disapproval at their lack of a medal.

“They should have awarded you better.” She sighs.

“Well, remember.” He says, reaching into his pocket and placing something in her hand. She opens her palm and gasps when she sees what is in her hand. A small gold chess piece and she gasps, looking up at her dad. “You’re the Queen of the Castle.” He says to her, making her smile. “Remember sweetie, be tough, and only help those who deserve it. Never let someone bully you, because you are always better than they are.” He says to her, caressing her cheek with his thumb. He checks his watch and notices that it is time for her to go to sleep. “Well then, time for this one to get some shut-eye!” He cheerfully says, swinging her up in the air, making her squeal in his arms. She giggles as he places her in her sleeping bag and zips her up in it. She looks up at him and he turns to go outside again with her mother.

“Wait!” Nora calls, and he stops, looking back at her.

“Yeah?” Khaki asks her.

“I don’t have my teddy.” She says quietly, and Khaki immediately sees it in the corner. A small brown bear with a white belly, a belly she has vandalized with a pink heart. He picks it up and gives it to her, tucking her in. Written on the label is the word _Boop_.

“Here you go, your majesty.” He chuckles, going to close it up, but she has one last message for him.

“Daddy?” Nora says. He pauses and looks at her.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” Khaki asks her.

“I love you.” Nora tells him and he smiles.

“I love you too.” He tells her, closing the tent up.

 

A few hours pass by...

The moon has risen into the sky, less damaged here than it is now, but still cracked, parts of it floating away from its body. Nora is snuggled in between her loving parents, woken by the sound of cawing crows once again. She looks at her parents and she carefully stands up, still holding her teddy bear close. She carefully holds the zip and starts to unzip the tent. Ardent with curiosity, she cannot help herself and she leaves the safety of her parents, approaching the sound of the crows in the distance. She cannot see them as easily anymore with the darkness of the sun concealing their location. But not their voices, she shivers from the bitter cold air, holding her teddy bear tight as she walks towards where she can hear them.

The trees creak and groan from the wind that pushes them around, most of the animals are asleep. As should the crows be, but something is different. Owls would be awake at this time, but not crows. Even if there is a fresh cadaver, they would not risk the night to do that.

She walks and walks, she cannot smell the putrid stench of a corpse, but her chills are growing and growing the closer she gets to the crows. She sees a bush in front of her, and she pushes it out of her way and a branch scrapes across her cheek and she yelps from the pain, blood dripping from the cut on her face. She looks at it and she whimpers from the pain, but continues on her path, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She approaches a large tree, the tallest and probably the oldest of them all. She looks up at it, dwarfing her. She has never felt smaller than she does here; Nora nervously treads forward, hearing the cold grass sinking beneath her shoe. She then finds the source of the crows; they are – for some reason – gathered on the grass, just sat there for no reason. They all look at her, and something is even more insidious about them. They all have glowing red eyes, emotionless eyes. They all stare at her, and scatter, their wings sending them off into the sky, caws echoing around the little girl. She whimpers, covering her eyes with her arm, protecting her Boop Teddy Bear. But then her eyes focus onto the thing that they stood in front of. Something just as sinister.

An intimidating totem made from both human and animal bones. Bound with rope and roots, it towers above her and creates the shape of a crucifix. The head of the cross has what looks like the skull of a male Deer, the antlers splayed outwards, sharp and able to disembowel any who dare challenge it. However the corpse would be of no danger to anyone.

Nora’s sense of meddlesomeness is strong, and remains to grow, the closer she gets to the Totem. She reaches out to it; an urge to touch it bursts across her mind. It feels like she is reaching across a chasm to touch this thing, unaware of what it is or what could happen. Her finger presses against the snout of the skull, and something happens to her. She screams with shock when there is a loud blast that pushes her off her feet, and on the soil. She slides across the floor, covered in dirt and her teddy rolls away from her reach. She gasps with pain, unable to scream, as if someone has put their hands around her throat and begun to squeeze tight. She hears the sound of her skin burning underneath her shirt and she looks to see blood pouring from some kind of wound.

And then...she can breathe again. She pulls her shirt open and her eyes widen in shock from what has formed. A scar of some kind, one that is...

...a handprint.

A hand with three digits, two long fingers and a long thumb. The blood has been cauterised from the burning. She sniffles in fear, and her eyes widen...the totem has collapsed, the bones rolling away from where they stood. Whatever that totem was – it was cursed. And the curse has been placed on her Aura. She stands up, picking her teddy up quickly, and she looks around with terrified eyes. Unaware of what she has just set in motion.

The creaking of the trees gets louder and louder as she stands there, her hands are shaking. Either from terror or from the icy cold temperatures of the night...it is unclear. The creaking gets so loud that it is behind her now. She turns around and suffers the fright of her life, falling over in fear. She screams with dread as she falls over. Her eyes follow up the shadowy figure that blocks out the moon’s lunar light.

The Leshen.

The demonic being towers above her, surrounded by a flock of crows that constantly squawk. Behind their caws is the deep, haunting breath of the creature. The head made up of a Buck’s Skull, the antlers displayed with cracks through the white bone. Red markings across the skull and antlers. Fiery red dust leaks from the eyesockets and from the open jaws that have no movement. Fire also burns through the open snout as well and ears. The long slender arms stretch down to its sides, the fingered hands relaxed, razor sharp claws made from timber that could cut through any type of metal. Leaves flutter across the wooden body and moss has grown across it, even on some parts of the antlers. A Crow lands on the Leshen’s shoulder, it is intelligent and old from how it acts.

Nora screams with pure fright, seeing the horrors that her parents have warned her of in front of her for the first time of her life. She has seen the sketches of the Creatures of Grimm, but nothing quite like this. She pushes herself back up to her feet and it watches her as she flees, screaming for her parents. The Leshen then starts to walk after her, every step echoing for miles, roots trembling from the presence.

Not far from the event, Khaki and Cyanna wake up, and in a blind panic they start to search for their beloved daughter after finding her missing from their arms. Khaki picks up his Hammer, and Cyanna finds her Bow and Arrow, taking the quiver and following her husband into the darkness, searching for their daughter as her screams echo and trail through the trees.

Nora keeps on running, looking back as the Leshen follows her, it’s burning red eyes glowing fiercely and it has not left her gaze. It points at her and there is a menacing snarl. The Leshen is terrifying because it does not run, it does not roar, it is near enough silent and only walks. The crows that orbit the Leshen leave its presence and they pursue the tiny girl, all cawing at once and they catch up extremely fast. She screams with fear, and just as they approach, Khaki bursts from the bushes and he smashes his Hammer into the swarm, dispersing them. They all begin to retreat back to the Leshen, and it stands tall, staring at them sinisterly. Khaki and Cyanna stand in front of their baby girl. “What are you doing out here?” Cyanna questions through motherly instinct, feeling her daughter’s wintry cold skin. Khaki keeps his attention focused on the Leshen, but it has not moved.

But it has an obsession with their daughter now; a focused interest for its gaze is still on her. Khaki gets ready to fight; no Grimm has ever backed down before. “Get out of here, honey.” She begs her, drawing her bow and aiming the arrowhead at the Leshen. The Leshen remains there, looking past her parents to look into her cyan eyes. Nora left her teddy behind, and her eyes widen when she sees what is in the hand of the Leshen.

The same teddy bear.

But the Leshen was not summoned because of her teddy bear; it appeared after she touched its totem. It must be one way of which it communicates, showing that it is going to hunt her. The Leshen throws the teddy bear onto the floor in front of them. The heart has been burned away, the handprint taking it over.

Suddenly the Leshen erupts into a swarm of Crows that all caw at once and it appears in between the parents. The Leshen slams its palm against Khaki’s chest so hard that it throws him into the air, crashing into the tree behind him. The Leshen then slashes the over clawed hand across Cyanna’s chest, slicing through the fabric. She screams in pain, falling to the floor, her pink aura wearing off instantly from the powerful attack. This thing is very powerful, and unlike other Grimm, it is ancient. Meaning it has honed its powers, and most likely has murdered its fair share of Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Nora crawls backwards out of fear when the Leshen approaches her with the parents out of its way. It did not go out of its way to kill them ferociously; it seems to just want Nora. It only needed them out of its way. Khaki glares at the monster, his eyes widening in fear as it is getting closer to his baby girl. Plagued in terror, she can’t even get up, only back up on her hands. It’s eyes burn hotter and hotter.

Until suddenly Khaki jumps in out of nowhere and smashes his hammer against the left antler, snapping it from where it once was. This is the only time anyone has ever heard the Leshen in pain before, a deafening bellow that makes the ground shake, the trees rattle, and all of nature becomes silent from the roar. The antler shatters and Khaki grabs his head in pain, screaming with distress. Smoke pours out of the wound that the Leshen has suffered and it growls, sending its foot crashing into Khaki’s chest, like a tree trunk has been launched into him. The Leshen turns to see Cyanna trying to fire an arrow at it. The Leshen growls and it points at her, suddenly roots from nature around them burst from the ground and they wrap around her, snapping the bow that she once held, restraining her where she was stood. It holds her tight, any worse and her bones would snap like twigs.

The Lord of the Wood turns back to Nora, and starts to get closer again. It leans towards her, the eyes burning hot, reaching towards her and she whimpers in fear, covering her eyes. The claws are ever so close now. Khaki roars with anguish, charging at the Leshen once more, jumping into the air with the hammer wielded in both hands. He roars with rage to save his daughter, and the Leshen stops.

Nora watches in horror as the Leshen turns and thrusts its clawed hand directly into and through the torso of Khaki, blood erupting out his back. His eyes widen and a gasp of shock and pain escape his lungs. Blood covers the wooden claws and the beast lifts him up and crashes him straight into the soil, his claws sinking into the ground. “Daddy!” Nora cries out, tears filling her eyes, unimaginable sorrow in her voice. The Leshen slowly pulls its hand from his torso and turns to the mother, slashing across her throat. She gasps and then begins to choke as blood sprays from her throat, writhing where she is held, unable to scream from her agony. The cut was so deep, that she is dead in seconds. Further traumatizing the child.

Nora looks at her dying father on the floor as the Leshen approaches her. Blood leaving his lips as his dying eyes look at her as she cries. He reaches out for her. “Run!” He begs her weakly. The Leshen turns and then it clenches its hand into a fist, roots wrap around his throat and they tighten, a mighty crack erupting as the roots break his neck. Nora cries out in horror, but she heeds his last words.

She gets up and flees from the Leshen as it watches her again as she flees. The Lord of the Wood makes no sound; it just watches her run from it. A deep growl emerges eventually, and it vanishes into the flock of Crows that pursue her.

 

Days have passed after the loss of her parents.

She wanders through the roads of the woods, fleeing from the Leshen that is still on her tail, the crow caws echoing for miles. Covered in dirt still after the encounter with the Leshen, she is starving. She has not eaten since she lost her home, and she cannot even take a break. Her eyes widen when they focus on the place she has discovered. Civilisation at last...

Kuroyuri.

She walks inside and she starts to run towards the markets, seeing people giving out food to those who have the money. The warmth of the sun has allowed her to no longer resort to shivering anymore, and she bends down, hiding in the shade from the people. She does not know the Kuroyurians, not yet at least. But she will fall in love with one...very soon. She looks at her chest again and the printed scar is still there. The Lord of the Wood’s Symbol. The Handprint.

She feels her tummy rumbling and she cannot help the urge but to grab her stomach with pain. She looks round and sees a boy being yelled at for burning a bunch of bread loafs or they have gone mouldy. The mother shouts at him over and over. “Throw those away!” She shouts, slamming the door in his face. The boy sighs, his head falling forward and his shoulders dropping down. He throws the bread on the floor, and one lands right in front of her.

Destiny...

She picks it up very quickly, and despite some of the mould on it, she goes to take a bite out of it to satiate her hunger. Until...”Hey!” A boy shouts, she turns and there are three young boys stood there. One tall with brown hair, one a little shorter with grey windswept hair and the shortest has short brown hair. The tallest crosses his arms when he sees her stood there, and she tries to flee from them. They should really realise what they should be running from, running with her.

Because it is still out there.

The boys quickly catch up with her in a cornered area. “Hey! Get back here!” The Taller boy shouts and they corner her. She hunches down, holding the bread close. “Where’d ya get that bread? I didn’t see you pay for it, _thief_!” He cruelly subjects, pointing at her. She backs up from them as they bully her.

“Ooh, look it’s all mouldy!” The shortest boy points out.

“I think she got it from the trash!” The tallest boy laughs. The boy medium height boy reaches out to the bread to try and snatch it from her hands.

“Let me see!” The medium height boy comments with a deceiving smirk. Nora remembers what her father told her before the night they were killed by the Lord of the Wood. _Don’t let anyone bully you; you are stronger than they are._

She takes the advice literally, and with her teeth she takes a bite at the boy’s finger, causing him to retract with a grunt of discomfort. “Ow! She bit me!” The boy exclaims, the tallest boy reacts with wide eyes and mouth agape, and with both hands the grey haired boy aggressively rams her to the floor, and Nora’s bread is thrown from her hands. She slides across the floor, and immediately grabs the bread, cowering with fear from the bullies. The bullies, picking on her because they do not understand her do not notice the witness.

Lie Ren, who looks at little Nora with concern for her safety. “Where’d she come from?” The little boy asks his friends as she hugs her bread tight. “She’s dressed all weird!” The boy comments on her attire, as if it is alien compared to whatever it is that he is wearing.

“I bet she’s abandoned! Like a dog, or something.” The tallest boy suggests with a smirk.

“Ugh! Does that mean I have rabies?” The medium height boy says. The boys all start laughing at her, and then they notice that Nora has seen young Ren behind them, and they follow her gaze to the boy. Ren gasps and he turns to run out of fear of being hurt by the boys. Until he runs into the tall, menacing man that is his father, who towers above him with his hands to his sides, looking at the scene of the bullying. They all fall silent when Li Ren sees them.

“Father?” Ren asks.

“What is happening here?” Li questions with angry eyes at the cruel nature of what the boys are doing to little Nora. The bullies look at each other and around the area, and Nora takes the opportunity to flee with her bread. The boys run as well, Nora leaves Ren behind and she sits behind a corner. She takes a bite from her bread, and it does not taste all too great. But it is still better than nothing; she would rather be ill than die from starvation. She takes many bites and chews them all down, surviving at any cost.

She jumps when she hears a caw next to her, and there is a Crow. It stands there and looks at her, causing her to freeze with fear. A phobia of Crows has formed in her due to the Leshen’s acts against her family. The Crow is clearly a servant of the Lord of the Wood, due to the glowing red eyes that are fixated on her, tilting its head and ruffling the jet black feathers that caress its little body. The Crow caws once more, and then it takes off into the air, approaching the woods. She looks at the woods, and a chill passes across her body.

The Lord of the Wood is watching her from the treeline...

...waiting...

 

Nora ends up falling asleep where she was eating her bread. Staying within the eyeshot of the Leshen that hunts her. Cursed her, and it seems to be wreaking havoc with her mind as well. She opens her eyes, the little girl, and ice surrounds her. She sits upright with pure nervousness pumping through her veins instead of blood. She looks around and she is inside of...

...the Charred Forest.

Except it looks slightly different, clearer than what Ruby was seeing. The Darkness has faded and ice is everywhere, snow claiming the landscape. But the frozen land is further than what she initially thought. Everything is frozen, even time. She is in a realm where only she can move, Grimm Beowulves trapped in one moment for eternity. She looks up at the sky and the moon has completely shattered, the chunks also frozen as well.

Something has happened...

Time has ended here.

Nora has seen the Shivering Dominion since she was a child, but not recently. She walks through the land and she touches the ice, the cold is making her shiver, cold breath escaping her mouth.

Her eyes focus and she gasps when she sees a knife imbedded in the ice. The Ren Knife, the one Li gave to Lie before the Nuckelavee claimed his life that fateful night. She picks it up and looks at the beautiful craftsmanship of the weapon. But as soon as she picks it up, she senses the presence.

She looks over her shoulder and screams with fear.

The Lord of the Wood is stood there, glaring into her eyes. And when she stands there, she then hears a voice. One she never thought would speak to her in the present day, only believed to be a hallucination in her nightmares. “Nora Valkyrie.” The charismatic and demonic voice announces. Stepping round the Lord of the Wood is the Knight of Fear, Formido Falcem held in his hand as he walks around the Shivering Dominion. Nora backs up with terror, pointing the tip of the knife at Fear as he walks towards her. He only says one thing to her with that memorable smirk on his rotten face.

Then he says the words. “The End of Time is coming...and you are stood right inside of it.” He speaks, his hands held out to the Shivering Dominion.

Suddenly the Lord of the Hunt erupts into the flock of Crows that swarms towards her with thousands of caws that never seem to end. Nora points the Knife at the swarm in an attempt to destroy the creature of shadows...

But to no effect.

 

Nora awakes with a gasp.

Nightfall has come, and the roar of the Nuckelavee echoes through Kuroyuri, waking the terrified girl from her Nightmares. She sits upright, at this point she has no idea of how important that dream will become in the future. Even now, she has forgotten about her venture into the Shivering Dominion. She sits up, her bread fully eaten and she looks around, hearing the gates being broken down. She peers round the building, and a gasp escapes her lungs when she sees the Ren house being smashed down by the elongated arm of the Nuckelavee, killing his mother. She flees as fast as she can as Nevermores enter the town, looking back at the forest and her eyes widen.

The Lord of the Wood is gone, most likely somewhere in the village, searching for her or slaughtering the innocents as it did to her parents. She takes cover behind a dumpster when she hears a Beowulf barking, tackling a civilian to the ground and gnawing onto his neck. The wolf rips his jugular out, claret spraying from his throat and across the cobblestone floor. The body is ravaged by the Beowulf and she is left with only one option.

To close her eyes and run.

She shuts her eyes, and only can she hears the wails of civilians as they are eaten alive by the monsters of Grimm. The explosive howls of the Nuckelavee can be heard for miles as it destroys the city, claiming hundreds of lives from those long arms. She opens her eyes, and gasps with relief when she takes cover underneath a building. In a state of panic, she puts her hands on her head and shuts her eyes. She tries to block out the annihilation, and it seemingly passes the time. Little did she notice the Nevermore landing on the building and nearly discovering her location.

Until she felt the warming hand of Lie Ren on her shoulder. “Hey!” Ren says to her and she gasps, her eyes widening when she hears another human voice. Especially one as young as she is. She looks at him, recognising him immediately as the boy who took interest in her being bullied, but was too afraid to take action. She looks into his eyes as he speaks. “We have to be brave.” Ren says to her with a smile. The Nevermore on the building is crawling towards them, roaring to the moon like the beast it is. Feeling as if this may be her last moments, she embraces Ren, hugging him and never letting go. Stunned by this, it takes him a second to hug her as well, and then she feels her soul being braver as he uses his semblance. The Nevermore would have found her, the fear she was giving out would have been enough. But luckily, Ren saved her, and the Grimm Beast leaves, roaring as it glides away.

Ren and Nora look as they see the hooves of the Nuckelavee stepping over to the house of which they have sought refuge under. Little did the Nuckelavee know that this exact same building would be where it would meet its end. Eventually, the murderer of Ren’s parents leaves the scene. Whereas Nora’s is still out there. Nora looks at Ren nervously. “I’m scared...” She tells him, her voice trembling.

“Me too.” Ren assures her, despite his seemingly calm demeanour. Nora keeps her hand on Ren’s shoulder, and then he looks over to the wooden hammer in the middle of the street. An idea strikes him, and he begins to make his approach to the hammer, until the small Nora holds his hand and pulls him back, stopping him from doing so out of fear. He smiles as he looks at her to calm her. “It’s okay.” He promises. Nora looks down at the floor and then at him, choosing to trust his instinct and she releases his hand. He crawls over to the hammer and grabs it, returning to where they are hiding together and he gives it to her. She holds it close to the heart on her shirt, remembering the one that she once played with on the carriage. “What’s your name?” He asks her, and Nora then looks at him with a smile on her face, the same one that her parents adored.

“Nora.” She tells him.

Ren smiles. “My name’s Lie Ren.” He tells her. She smiles and wraps her arms around him in an affectionate hug. They look around, still hearing the Grimm roaring for miles. They both know that they cannot stay hidden underneath a building; the chances were high that a Nevermore or the Nuckelavee could just topple it over or they would find them. “I can get us to safety.” Ren promises with a smile. She trusts him with her life now, and she nods, holding his hand. He puts his arm round her shoulders and she wraps the other arm around him as well. Ren activates his semblance and they are shrouded with a greyish colour palette, one that hides them from the creatures of Grimm. They walk through the destroyed place, Ren’s eyes focusing on the water lily he wanted to keep.

No need now...

But when they walk, they both hear a blood freezing scream and the sound of a blade puncturing through a body. They both look in the direction, and their eyes widen in horror. Nora’s more than Ren’s for she knows who that thing is.

The Lord of the Wood stands tall, its long sharp curved claws pushed into a body, the blood dripping to the floor. The crows flock around him, cawing constantly, the wooden body creaking as it stands there. Blood curdling down from his claws, holding the fresh corpse there. He matches the colour of the sky, black as the void. Nora stares at the corpse in his grasp with horror.

The medium height boy with grey hair, his body, his life drained from his corpse. Blood leaks from his mouth, his eyes still open, looking through her where she stands. His skin turned pale when he died, his life sucked dry. His soul consumed by the monster that murdered him, the Lord of the Wood.

The Leshen stares directly at Nora, and the corpse falls to the floor, beside the other two bullies that scared her. The tallest suffered three slashes across his body; the shortest was crushed by the roots that came up from the ground.

All suffered painful ends.

The Lord of the Wood sensed her trepidation, saw what she experienced. It made them targets.

The Lord of the Wood – killed them...for bullying her...like the most evil guardian a girl could have, a guardian that is constantly out to kill her...

All...for touching a totem she did not understand.

The Leshen stares into her eyes...

As it does in the present day, looking exactly the same, unlike the girl who has grown up into a beautiful young adult.

But her fear for the Lord of the Wood is still as strong as ever...

And it is still hunting her...

...to this day


	32. Lapsus Eques Auratus

**Willow**

She has no idea of the battle that is happening right now, the ones that her daughter has been involved in. She is sat down in the garden, but now she does not have her wine glass with her. Instead of drinking her sorrows away, she is actually contemplating on the things that she wants to do. She needs her daughters back, or at least to know that they are safe, she wants her husband to be put in prison and for the Acolytes of Lien to be put to punishment. She sits there, and as the thought of those mercenaries enters her brain, she gasps when she hears someone approaching. “Beautiful garden, ma’am.” The intimidating voice of Darren Ortega says, she turns and sees him stood by the bush that has been morphed into the shape of a King Taijitu.

Ortega stands tall, still wearing the Mercenary Suit that he wore at the meeting with President Thaddeus Brimstone. He holds a glass of red wine in his hand and he looks up at the icy cold sun that floats above them and he chuckles. “Nice day as well.” He points out, his wintry breath in mist form escaping from his lips. Willow’s blue eyes narrow when she glares at him and finally she responds.

“Yes, it is.” She sighs, looking forward again as she thinks. Darren approaches her and he sets the glass down on one of the benches, taking a seat beside her, crossing a leg. He reaches into the inside pocket of his suit and pulls out a silver cigar case, taking a stogie from it and putting it in his mouth. He looks at her and offers her one. “You smoke?” He asks her.

“No, I quit.” Willow tells him. He nods and closes it, putting it back in his coat again. He holds a lighter and flicks it; the hammer strikes a spark that ignites the end, smoke trailing from the cigar and into the air. He grabs the stogie and takes it from his mouth, exhaling the smoke into the purified atmosphere of Atlas. So peaceful, and yet so dangerous now. And Willow knows it too well. Her husband is creating an empire, and he will use the Faunus as slaves...

The question is...how?

Willow looks at Ortega. “Why are you helping him? It can’t be just for the money...I’ve seen your men fighting alongside those monsters.” Willow says to him accusingly, the Admiral looks at her and thinks of his answer.

“He and I have similar interests.” Ortega tells her and she furrows her eyebrows.

“What does that mean” Willow presses.

“He sees a means to control, and I see a mean to keep the peace.” He tells her and Willow scoffs.

“A bunch of Criminals are looking to bring the peace?” She responds. “Forgive me for not believing that.”

“Who do you think we are?” Ortega asks her. “Yes, my men have made some questionable choices when I let them take on contracts and serve less than respectable people. But when he offered the funding to keep the Army alive, I saw a chance to change us. I made us change from a Criminal Organisation into a Military for hire...who knows, with your betrothed’s help we could become a superpower.” Ortega explains, waving the smoking Cigar around in his pinching grasp. Willow tries to understand but is struggling; even he must see the issues with what he is working with. The monsters that will wipe all mankind out.

“I’ve seen the footage, what those – things do...they have been wiping out entire villages in Vale and Anima. They destroyed Haven, with _your_ help. How can you possibly serve something that will turn on you in an instant?” Willow interrogates with confusion on her face at how blind the man seems. He takes the cigar from his teeth and turns his head to face her.

“That is the other reason I joined your husband’s cause. The money is all well and good, but he knows that the Knights are using us for our numbers and strength to make their job easier.” Ortega explains, looking at the cigar in his hand. “Sometimes, people must make deals with the Devil if we are to survive, this is no different.” He explains. “You see our contract with the knights remind me a lot of a cigar or a cigarette...the effects are pleasurable at first, but over time it can grow to kill you. Except we are not the ones that are going to die at the end of this...they are.” He assures her, standing back up and putting the cigar back in his mouth, chewing on the end of it. “Enjoy yourself out here, ma’am.” He says as he prepares to leave.

“Where’re you going?” Willow inquires; he stops and turns to her on the spot.

“We have a package to deliver, one so important that I must be present to make sure that the delivery process runs...smoothly.” He says with a smirk, turning away and walking off from her. Willow remains on her own, so many thoughts in her mind right now. Like they are all screaming at once.

_What is he planning?_

_What did he mean by that comparison?_

_What has Jacques gotten himself into?_

But all these thoughts come down to one extremely important motive. _I need to get the President to see his real colours before this gets any worse._ She stands up and waits until Ortega is out of her sight, and then she storms towards the Schnee Manor, pushing the doors open and she looks around.

She walks inside and looks around; her home does not feel like it is her’s anymore. Soldiers patrolling the halls armed with Dust Charged Assault Rifles, some wearing high tech armour. A Seeker walks down the halls, holding a Sub Machine Gun charged with orange dust as they always do, the backpack glowing faintly as the dust battery prepares to be activated. The helmeted man looks at her; the glowing red visor hides his eyes from her, so she can’t tell if he was checking her out or if he was being suspicious of her motives.

She keeps on walking, worried that she could bump into the Spectre or the Onyx Phantom. However she has not seen them since he fraternized with her a couple days ago. She approaches her husband’s study and she can’t tell if he is inside. She then turns and nearly jumps out of her skin.

Klein is stood behind her with a tray in his hand with a hot coffee, the smell instantly calms her. Weiss took to her coffee the same way that her mother does, two sugars and cream. Not as extreme as Ruby’s, but it makes sense for someone as mad as her. “Hot coffee Mrs Schnee?” Klein asks her with a kind smile on his face, he has always managed to warm the hearts of the Schnee Girls; the boys however have not been able to be as affected by him in this way. Jacques never took much care to him, whereas Whitley’s extreme paranoia lead him to become more untrusting of him. She takes the mug with a smile.

“Thank you Klein.” She says, taking a sip, the warmth of the coffee moving throughout her body. Klein walks over to her and whispers in her ear.

“I overheard Ortega speaking to one of his operatives.” He whispers, and her eyes widen with shock.

“What did he say?” She asks. She looks down and sees his scroll. He recorded their conversation and she smiles with amazement. He presses the play button and they listen in on the recording.

There is static at first but then the recording plays. “Report.” Ortega demands, sounding less friendly to whomever he is talking to. The man speaks to him, sounding less serious than his superior, and she immediately recognises his voice.

“Wow, we’re taking that tone with this are we, boss?” The Spectre asks with a scoff on the other end of the call.

“Can it, what have you and the Phantom found out?” He questions.

“Well, the Schnee Girl and her boyfriend went to that Dam at Mistral for some reason. Watts went after them, wonder if they know of his involvement in that whole thing.” The Spectre chuckles. Willow does not understand the importance of this revelation, but to Neptune...it could be everything. Watts was there at the destruction of the Dam, whether or not he blew the dam to kill them is uncertain. He does not say any more on the matter. “He is supposed to bring her back alive, the boy is expendable. However I have caught onto something much tastier.” He explains.

“Speak.” Ortega demands.

“Alright, alright...sheesh.” The Spectre reacts, probably rolling his eyes as well. “The Phantom and I caught wind of that Rose girl and the boy were trying to break out of Salem’s Sanctum, the boy escaped but Ruby did not. I saw where he landed, someone teleported him there. Only a member of Salem’s Inner Circle have clearance to use the portals. I have my suspicions. When we saw him land, the girl’s sister and her boyfriend were there as well. They were going after that Amitola chick, he could have killed her but he didn’t.” He explains, little does Willow know that she is hearing the mission that Kassius attempted in getting revenge. Instead, he managed to get some closure on her, understanding her reasons for why it happened. And he let her go, let her live on.

Perhaps one day she might be able to return the favour.

The Spectre continues on with his report. “They sent the boy off in a teleportation back to wherever it is that they are hiding, but they went and got their bikes and rode off. Shall we pursue?” The Spectre asks.

“Do it. Kill them as well, the only ones we need alive are the Schnee Girls. Be swift about it as well.” Ortega orders.

“Understood.” The Spectre agrees. And the call ends there.  Klein puts his scroll away and looks at her.

“Weiss is in trouble...if that is one of her friends, the blonde one, then she might call her...the Spectre will hurt her.” She says with fearful eyes.

“Jacques is the one we need to worry about. I have not seen him much, usually I see him every day at his office. But he is not in there, have not seen him there at all recently.” Klein explains.

“Ortega told me that he and his mercenaries had a package to deliver...” Willow says and then whispers into his ear. “Could it be that Ruby girl? Weiss sent letters about her; she was one of her teammates. She’d never admit it but she was her best friend as well at that school.” Willow states.

“It’s likely.” Klein agrees.

“I need to talk to Brimstone; I need an audience with him in private. Everything that Jacques is getting involved in, the business with the Acolytes of Lien, the Knights of Grimm...they are all extremely dangerous. He is becoming extremely dangerous; I fear that he might be planning to overthrow the council.” Willows explains. Klein looks around and then he simply nods.

“Follow me.” Klein tells her.

**Ren**

Fear grabs Winter by the throat and throws her straight through one of the huge pillars, causing it to tumble down. He laughs maniacally, his golden eyes glow stridently and he swings his staff with force and speed, carving clean through the stone with that one movement. Winter quickly rolls out of the way as the pillar collapses. The pillar narrowly misses Ren and Nora as they flee from the Lord of the Wood which simply walks after them, crows squawking around the beast as it walks. The beast points the bark claw-like hand at them both as they flee, and the swarms of crows pursue, echoing through the library.

Ren turns and points Stormflower at the Leshen, pulling the triggers at the monster as it chases them. Suddenly it bursts into a cloud of Crows, the cloud rises over them and then crashes down behind them, the Lord of the Wood materialises, towering above them and slashing the long sharp claws aggressively at them. Ren uses the green curved blades of his Sub-Machine guns against it. But it grabs him by his neck and then blasts into the swarm again, pulling him from Nora’s grasp. She reaches out, yelling in terror. “Ren!” She wails.

The Leshen forms from the crows and throws him into the bookshelves, knocking them all down like Dominos. The Leshen stands tall and scrapes the claws against the pillars as it comes after him. Ren groans with pain, shaking it off after being slammed down like that. He pushes his hands against the cold stone, and then glares at the Lord of the Wood. He remembers it from Kuroyuri, when it murdered those two boys that bullied her. They deserved to be punished, but not slaughtered by a monster. They were barely older than ten. The Leshen stares down at him, but instead of killing him, it turns and walks away from him, going back towards Nora.

It is not choosing to kill him...

It knows Nora loves him. But Ren is not about to let that thing hurt her like the Nuckelavee did. He grits his teeth with anger and he yells, sprinting after the monster, jumping towards it and slamming his blades down into its back, holding onto the branched that protrude from its body. The Leshen hunches forward slightly from the weight of Ren landing on its back, its long claws curve backwards into a fist and a deep snarl emerges from its chilling skull. “Leave her alone!” Ren yells as he pulls backwards with the Stormflower Pistols embedded in the timber man. The Leshen is now staggering around, roots ripping up from the ground as it walks. He pulls the triggers back as hard as he can, stopping the blood flowing into his fingers, blasting green bullets constantly into the back of the monstrosity. The Lord of the Wood stumbles and stumbles as pieces of bark and blown off from the body. Black smoke pouring from the wounds, splinters flying up against his face. The Leshen is reaching up for Ren, howling terrifyingly as it does. But then its clawed hand clenches around Ren’s long black hair and it yanks him tightly, bringing extreme throbbing pain to his scalp when it manages to rip him from its back and throw him away. But Ren still manages to throw Stormflower like a Boomerang into the side of the Leshen’s face. The green blade slices through the bone and causes the Lord to stumble aside from the impact, grunting with anger.

 

**Raven**

Raven sprints towards the Knight of Fear who sprints at her in return.  “Come on birdie!” Fear yells as he sprints at her, swinging the Scythe directly at her face. Raven transforms into bird form and returns to human behind him, swinging the red Odachi Blade upwards with force. The Odachi cuts clean through his skin and bone, making him stagger forward and roar with pain. He stares at her and she looks at him, she has put her helmet back on after it was thrown from her head in the battle against Fury. He has a constant grin on his rotten face as he rises back up, spinning the Scythe through his fingers as he walks, keeping his eyes trained on her. Despite knowing that her brother and the older Schnee are still her somewhere. His eyes glow bright gold as he paces around her, dragging the huge Scythe with one hand, fighting like Ruby and Qrow can with that thing, but he is much faster.

He jumps forward, spinning the scythe round fast and hard like Ruby, slashing at her over and over again with it. Raven takes quick steps backwards, using her Red Odachi to deflect the curved blade of his weapon. He hooks the weapon onto the blade and rips it from her hands. She reaches out, her eyes behind the helmet widening and he picks her up by the neck, lifting her off the floor. “So disappointing.” He sighs, grabbing her helmet and ripping it off, dropping it on the floor. She grabs his rotten hand but the skin just slides off, cold dead and rotten. She gasps for air where he holds her, staring straight at her.

“You can’t win!” Raven gasps.

Qrow charges towards him from behind and so does Winter. But without even looking, with his other hand he points at them and a swarm of flies and dark green smoke erupts from his palm and they accidentally inhale it. They both start to scream in terror, his fear Toxin is going to work on them. Winter wails in terror, her hands pressed against her head as she hears her father shouting at her when she was a child over and over again. She falls on the floor when she continues to see it. Qrow keeps on seeing Summer and Ruby dying in front of him again and again, bringing great pain across his body as he staggers.

But he continues to stare into Raven’s eyes. Her red eyes meet his golden ones and he smirks again. “It seems whenever we meet you are always in a situation where you have a choice to make.” Fear chuckles, remembering back at the Emerald Forest when Yang was fighting Neo on the train. He showed her the scene of her failing, seeing her own daughter being stabbed by Neo and watching her die. But he gave her the chance to save her and she did. She grits her teeth and kicks him in the chest with both feet, but to no avail, he does not change his stance.

“What are you talking about?” She questions in a strained voice. Fear chuckles sinisterly, his yellow teeth gritted as he smirks.

“It seems you have yet another choice before you.” He says. His eyes suddenly glow much brighter than they did before, and Raven feels something tunnelling into her mind and she grunts with pain, still hearing the cries of terror that her brother and friend are making behind Fear as he tortures them with their own fears. Winter falls backwards, seeing Weiss being stabbed by Death, the blade sticking out her back. A nightmarish scene that nearly happened back at Mistral when it fell to their forces. Her pain was so extreme that she nearly died. Qrow reaches out, tears in his eyes as he sees the horrific shot of Death holding Ruby by the neck and plunging Ferrum Arctus into her heart, watching as the life leaves her eyes. He clenches his hand into a fist and he sees his sword before him. He pushes through the fear, and begins to crawl towards it.

“What choice?” Raven questions as Fear stands there. Qrow shakes the Toxin off and he focuses his eyes on the spine of Fear. There is a weakness there, his spine is noticeable and he can actually see what looks like a heart stone buried inside the skeletal body. The less his fear consumes him, he sees it glowing fainter and fainter.

Fear makes him stronger, if you fight it, use bravery, it makes him weaker. He reaches out, loud ringing in his ears as the pushes through it, reaching further and further. Raven gasps when she suddenly sees something, shown a vision before her eyes.

She sees Yang being smacked off her bike and thrown onto the floor by a mysterious man. She tumbles and tumbles and she smacks her head against a rock, the skin on her forehead splits and blood begins to leak out from her wound. She gasps in pain and looks up as she is grabbed by the neck and is thrown into the floor. A metal hook stabs into her shoulder and smashes her head first into the road about three times, bruising a scuffing up her face. Blood pouring from her nose and mouth, crying out in pain. The man throws her across the road and she smashes into a tree, a deep crunch from her back breaking. And he approaches her again.

Kassius gets up and charges towards him, but he turns and smashes the hook hand into his chest, dragging him towards a spike from a destroyed tree and smashes him down onto it, impaling him. A fountain of blood sprays into the air and he gasps in pain. The man turns with a smirk on his face. It is the Spectre, blood covering his face. He then approaches Yang and he slams the hook into her cybernetic arm, ripping it off with ease, sparks spraying out and he throws it over to Bumblebee. He grabs her by the neck, glaring into her eyes, saying something that Raven cannot hear properly. He then lifts the hook upwards, and drives it down into her heart, killing her.

The vision ends and she sees Fear looking back at her, tears in her eyes from seeing her daughter being murdered so horrifically by the psychopath. “You can stop all of that from happening.” Fear assures her. “Or...” He says, pointing at Ren as the Lord of the Wood picks him up and throws him straight through a book case. Nora is trying to get to him but she can see that the handprint is burning her again, and Nora cries out in pain, unable to get any closer to the Leshen to help her beloved. The curse is keeping her away from it, making her helpless to save Ren from it. “You can save your friends.” Fear suggests as he smiles at her. “The choice is yours.” He says.

Qrow grabs onto the hilt of his sword and he stands up, swinging it straight at Fear. Fear raises one damaged eyebrow and he releases Raven and catches the blade, pulling it from his hand and kicking him in the chest. Fear throws the sword on the floor and then he stretches his hand towards him, spraying the Fear Toxin into his eyes relentlessly, not stopping. Fear grits his teeth with anger as Qrow remains to stand against it. He can hear their screams, but he fights it, walking towards Fear slowly, pushing through the toxin. Fear looks at his bravery, his stoic behaviour and he cannot explain it. He growls with anger and pushes further, more gas and flies hitting him in the face.

Raven looks at her brother, seeing how brave he is, but his eyes are turning bloodshot, nose bleeding and ears rupturing. The gas is frying his brain, if he keeps going, he will kill Qrow with the gas. He grits his teeth, unable to stop Qrow like he stops others. Raven looks to her side and she focuses on her Odachi. She grabs the Odachi and stands up behind Fear.

She yells, swinging it horizontally across the back of his neck, the blade slices clean through the skin, flesh and bone and severs the head from his shoulders. He stands there, and the gas ends, relieving Qrow. And Winter stops writhing from the fear, the toxin has lost the toxicity on them all. The head of Fear smirks and starts to laugh at how she managed to beat him. His head rolls off his shoulders and falls down his body, hitting the floor. As soon as his skull hits the floor, his head and the body burst into a flock of Crows that caw, flying away through the cracks and abandoning them.

They beat Fear there, but he will be back.

Raven stands there, still in her position, eyes focusing on her brother who has been made incapacitated from Fear’s toxin. He falls over and groans in pain. “Qrow!” Raven yells.

“I’m fine...just need a minute.” He quietly says; hand on his head in pain. She looks at the Lord of the Wood and then at Winter.

“Winter, you need to help Ren and Nora.” She says.

“What about you and Qrow?” Winter questions. Raven stands up; Fear never told her how much time is left before the Spectre butchers her daughter. She stammers as she stands there, then she looks at her.

“I told you that I met him before, right?” Raven asks them both.

“Yeah...at the Emerald Forest.” Qrow whispers weakly. Winter looks at him with concern and then at Raven.

“He showed me Yang being killed by one of Torchwick’s Henchmen; I left immediately and was just in time to save her. He showed me it again, and...I will not let her die.” Raven explains.

“Go.” Qrow tells her. “It nearly happened last time...it will nearly happen now.” Qrow says, nodding. She nods at them both and Winter immediately makes her way towards the Lord of the Wood, seeing Ren sprinting directly at it. Raven forms a red portal and steps into it, vanishing from the scene.

Qrow is left there on his own.

“Ow...” Qrow groans from his migraine he is suffering with.

 

**Ren**

Ren charges towards the Lord of the Wood which is not even facing him, walking toward Nora who has fallen to her knees as the sign of the Leshen is burning intensely on her chest. She cries out with pain, her cries trigger Ren’s rage. Similar to when the Nuckelavee hurt her, he went berserk then. His irises have shrunken down and he sprints at the monster from behind, yelling. The Lord of the Wood however turns fast and grabs him by the chest with its huge hand and lifts him over its head, which is nearly ten feet over the floor. And then it smashes him straight into the tough stone floor with force. Cracks burst out across the floor, dust spluttering out from the many fractures in the ground. Ren’s aura is still strong and he quickly rolls away when the Leshen plunges its long curved wooden claws into the ground where he was.

He jumps in the air and performs a skilled roundhouse kick, hitting it across the skull, causing the Lord to stagger. Ren jumps and grabs the antler, slamming its head downwards into the ground. A deadly snarl comes out of the monster’s spiritual lungs. He aims Stormflower at the Lord, but the Leshen grabs his hand and pulls him so fast that it nearly rips his arm out of his socket. The Leshen bursts into a cloud of crows that all caw at once and then reappears behind him, slashing him up his back, a pinkish purple flash as he does that. The Leshen repeats this tactic about three times, using the Crow Flock to move extremely fast, opposed to the leisurely paced beast it normally acts like. The Leshen slashes him across the chest, the impact sends Ren flying and screaming, bouncing and rolling across the ground. Ren rolls past one Stormflower and he holds it in both hands, staring at it as it looks at him, walking back and forth to try and get to Nora.

It does not _want_ to fight him, but Ren is leaving it no other choice. He runs at the Leshen and slices across its belly, cutting bits off wood off and some leaves. The Leshen creates a deafening howl of anger, the eyes bursting with fire from the skull, picking Ren up with ease, and then it brings him down onto its sharp knee, a loud bang echoes from the impact. The body ignites with flames, becoming more charred with rage, and it is making more sounds than it normally does. The Lord of the Wood is enraged, setting its own body alight from the fire that burst from its eyes. The Lord of the Wood throws him across the room again, and he slides across the floor, groaning with pain.

Ren grunts in pain, and his aura flickers across his body.

Nora looks at his aura reading on her scroll, fighting the pain and she gasps, seeing it has completely run out. There is no aura protecting him anymore. She looks up and sees the Leshen walking around him; grabbing him by his shirt and lifting him up with ease, carrying him towards a stone statue of an Arkhoni Warrior with a spear in his hand. The Leshen holds him up and batters the boy through the statue itself. The entire statue, a work of art, shatters like glass, chunks of stone crumbling and hitting the floor with force. Ren yells in pain, feeling his bones being cracked in the process. The Leshen smashes him into the lower half that has not been broken yet, hitting him into it again with force.

The Lord of the Wood presses its foot down onto his chest, the roots wrap around him and they tighten, restraining him. The Lord of the Wood points the sharp claws at him, connecting them all to a point to stab Ren with them. His eyes widen and Nora screams in terror. “No! Lie!” She screams, actually saying his first name instead of his go-to surname. The Lord does not even respond to her cries, it just pushes down at him.

And in just a knick of time, a glyph forms between Ren and the claws of the Leshen, stopping it like a brick wall was placed between them. The Lord of the Wood creates a growl of anger and turns to its left. Winter uses a glyph under her heels and she uses the same technique her younger sister does. With both swords pointed at the Leshen, she darts towards it and slams them both into the chest of the Lord of the Wood, sending it flying backwards, severing the roots that restrained Ren in the first place. Ren gasps, able to breathe again after being suffocated.

The Lord of the Wood drags its claws into the ground to slow itself down. Winter stands between the Lord of the Wood and Ren, her blades held upwards. It glares at her, but then the flames recede from its eyes. It stands tall, smoke trailing from the charred body. It turns and then transforms into a flock of crows, cawing as they retreat from the scene. It could have continued to fight, but it knew its odds were too great, it went berserk too soon. When a Leshen goes berserk, it fights harder, faster and more aggressively. But by setting itself on fire like that, it has also made itself weaker.

The Lord is smart, it knows when to stop.

Nora feels the burning pain on her chest fade and she looks at the scarring of the print, it has stopped glowing orange and no longer swells from the burning sensation. She runs over to Ren and helps him get the roots off him, immediately wrapping her arms around him. “It’s okay...” He assures. She holds him by the face and kisses him affectionately on the lips, sharing the moment with him for what feels like a couple of days. He wraps his arms around her lovingly. They break the kiss, keeping their heads close.

“Don’t ever do that to me again...” She begs. He smiles, caressing her cheek.

“I’ll try my best.” Ren assures with a smile, kissing her again. Winter smiles, turning around to see Qrow limping over with his sword, leaning against it. He has wiped most of the blood off but he is still bleeding.

“Come on...we need to find Kragen.” He says.

 

**Kragen**

Amidst the battle, he is walking through the halls of the Library towards the area of which he has been searching for. The echoing caws travel throughout the entire cave as he walks. He holds his staff by his side, his silver eyes examining the collapsed area. He walks closer and closer and there it stands before him.

The Visionary Book.

Named Lapsus Eques Auratus...the Fallen Knights. He reaches out to it as the pages open, until something unfathomable happens.

Everything stops with a deafening crack...fragments of time surround him, he unknowingly has been frozen in time. Just like Oscar’s Semblance, but Oscar is not here. Someone else is, someone completely unknown. He is unaware that a mysterious individual has approached, wearing an extremely complex set of armour made out of cogs like a clock. Built into it is a black cape that would blow in the wind. If there was one. The head is made out of the same cog like structure, coming together to create the eyes that glow deep green. The same green light glows in different places in the armour. The being looks at him and then approaches the book, placing the cog made hand against it.

And just like that...

The Visionary Book burns into ash, fire bursting up from the palm of the beings hand, reducing it to embers that float away. It has also absorbed the information stored inside. It turns and looks at him. It is not a Knight, but it does not seem human either. It looks at Kragen, holding a staff that has cogs inside and has a glowing white head with matter trailing from it. The being walks past him and then snaps its fingers, as the fingers slam down on what looks like the face of a clock in the centre, time resumes.

Kragen reaches for the book and there is nothing there. His eyes widen in shock, utter disbelief. “What?” He stammers, looking around for answers. It was right there...and now it is not.

He looks behind him...and a cold chill of horror charges across him when he catches a glimpse of the being. He looks at him, the glowing green eyes staring at him. And then...he is gone.

_Who was that man?_

**Oscar**

At the exact same time that this event happens, Oscar is walking around Raven’s hideout, talking with Blake as she is filling him in on the details and he does the same about Ruby. But when he is sat there, time stops here as well, Blake’s voice frozen in time as well, just like Tyrian’s was. His eyes widen in confusion when he looks around. “What the hell?” He questions, sitting up and looking around. He thinks carefully to resume time, but for whatever reason, he cannot do so. He did not do this by accident, something else did. Whatever that being was. “Ozpin? Can you hear me?” He asks. But time is frozen; Ozpin would have no idea of what is happening right now. Not until it resumes.

Suddenly a searing, ringing pain erupts in his temples and he screeches in pain, falling to his knees, hands pressed against the sides of his head as he screams from this pain. He falls over, and suddenly...

He passed out without warning.

He opens his eyes and sits up with real shock in his hazel coloured eyes, looking around the distorted landscape. There is no sound and it is freezing, colder than Mistral or even Atlas. Colder than any form of Winter he has ever experienced. He lifts up his hand, snow coated in his palms that chills him to his core. He is in the Charred Forest, tall burned trees surround him and the clouds are frozen in place. Only he has noticed that there is no wind either, everything is frozen in place. He walks around the area with confusion, trying to figure out what has just happened.

He walks round the corner and he jumps back with shock from what he sees. A Beowulf Alpha, encased in ice. Frozen in time, running from something. Nevermores are frozen in the sky, all flying in the same direction. The Grimm are running from something...and something that makes this even more unsettling? The Grimm are running _with_ Humans and Faunus. All have been frozen in place.

His eyes look upwards...he has only seen this place on the internet or in magazines.

It is Beacon.

The place has been completely frozen over, the Clocktower frozen in place. He stands there, shocked from where he is. Until he hears a voice from behind him. “Hello, Oscar Pine.” A distorted voice speaks. He looks over his shoulder, eyes widening when he sees him. He walks towards him; the Man of Cogs approaches him with the staff in hand. They are the only moving figures here. “Welcome to where I come from...Welcome to the Shivering Dominion.” He introduces.

“Who are you?” Oscar questions. “How are you able to speak to me? Time has frozen.” He stutters.

“It does not matter what my name is...but many refer to me as _Time_.” The man tells him, his voice sounds distorted, like it is multiple voices speaking over each other into one voice. Like Fear’s but this being’s voice is very different. Threateningly sinister. “You and I are a progeny from a powerful people...we are the last of the Travellers.” He tells him.

“And you...are the last Traveller.” Time tells him, leaving Oscar dumbfounded.


	33. The Last Traveller

**Oscar**

“What is this place?” Oscar inquires fearfully; taking a few steps backwards in the realm that looks real but does not feel it. Seconds do not seem to pass at any point; there is no sound, no howling winds. Even the snow does not move. The only moving beings here are the two people stood in the Charred Forest. Oscar stares at the Man of Cogs, the Man of Time. He holds his staff in his hand, light trailing from the head of the weapon, the cogs ticking silently as it moves.

“This is our future...the event that we shall all succumb to.” Time explains, holding his hand out to the frozen landscape. Oscar walks towards the frozen Beowulf that was fleeing from whatever was behind it. He touches the ice and it is not even cold like it should be...it is not ice...it is some sort of form of dust. Dust which has caused time to end...he looks at the man as he holds the staff where the snow has stopped around him. “Time is going to end.” He tells Oscar, a statement that would give anyone nightmares.

“What do you mean? How can time just end?” Oscar questions as he takes steps towards the Man of Cogs. The cogs that make up his head shift round, like his eyes are blinking. His voice is that of nightmares, extremely distorted and monstrous. If this is what happens to Travellers...what would happen to Oscar?

“The Knights of Grimm.” He tells him, looking up at the Beacon Tower that is encased in this form of ice. “Death will use the Relics of Remnant to end all life, including the Grimm.” He explains to Oscar, his eyes widen with disbelief at this. “The Relics would transform every form of dust on the planet and cause it to rupture, tearing the planet apart and causing time to stop forever. Only the souls of the fallen and the Travellers can move amongst this realm. Only those unbound by time itself.” He explains, walking through the land. He looks at the frozen figures, some people looking back with terror in their eyes as they flee. The way they look back also shows how the dominion was formed from some kind of wave. One that is extremely dangerous, one that might be able to kill everything that lives on Remnant.

Oscar looks at Time, and he decides to ask the question that has been lingering in his mind for a while now. He has had a theory, that it could be one person in particular. He has been bound to his soul and he is very secretive...so he has to ask it. “Are you Ozpin?” Oscar asks nervously, and the being slowly turns to face him, the green eyes focusing on him.

“No.” Time answers. “Ozpin died long before I was born.” He explains to him, making Oscar’s eyes widen. “My first memories as a child were of being the only living thing that moved. My home completely encased in ice, all life unmoving for eternity, unable to speak. Only my voice echoed in this vast continuum of nothingness. My own mother frozen in time before me, my brother frozen, my father frozen. All of them were frozen...but me. I was _chosen._ ” He explains, causing Oscar to tilt his head.

“Chosen?” Oscar asks.

“Travellers are not formed from the loving intercourse of partners, Oscar...no...We are generated.” He explains, his eyes widen in disbelief, taking steps back.

“What about your mother?” He inquires.

“We are adopted children; we are never given the love of true parents. My brother was a step-brother, my parents were guardians. But they did not live long enough for me to know them.” He explains, and then he looks at Oscar. “You too were formed, not born.” He explains, and Oscar’s eyes widen with horror. His entire life...he thought his mother was a Huntress, or that she was killed or that she just went missing one night. He even thought that she ditched him, told that she was his Aunt. But she must have been his guardian and called herself that so then he would have a relatively normal life. Oscar looks the being in the eyes, horrified to learn that he was created not born. “That is why Ozpin has connected his aura to yours, because he found out that another Traveller has been created. Why? For this very moment.” Time explains, holding his metal hand outwards to the frozen landscape.

“What am I supposed to do? How do I stop this from happening?” Oscar questions, overwhelmed from all this pressure that has just been placed on his shoulders. Time looks at him calmly, and the round metal curves of his staff’s head blow brighter as the magical ball of light seems to catalyse something. Suddenly, time begins to reverse backwards and Oscar gasps, they both do not move, and they see the ice retracting backwards and the creatures of Grimm run in reverse from the blizzard that pursues them, freezing everything in its path. It is true – the Grimm were fleeing _with_ the Humans and the Faunus. The colour returns to Vale, greens and oranges in the setting sun. The moon has completely shattered in the sky, something has happened to the moon. But the rewinding of time continues further, and they begin to move so fast through time that he cannot actually tell what is going on.

Until it stops at one specific moment. As it stops, he gasps when he sees her stood there.

Ruby...a year younger here as well. The sun shines bright in the sky and Yang is stood beside her baby sister, towering above her. Seeing Ruby with two eyes is a welcome sight for him now, and he does feel the emotions that Tyrian had been making snide comments about. He does have feelings for her, no matter how many times he tries to dismiss the claims. Time walks around him, time has been paused here and he looks at her, the awe in her eyes when she first saw Beacon stood there. Oscar looks at Time as he walks around her, using the end of his staff like a walking cane. “What is this?” Oscar questions.

“Observe the power that we wield.” He says, showing his palm to him, built into the Man of Cogs’ hand is a clock in the palm. The three hands have not moved, until he snaps his fingers and the fingers hit the centre of it. The hands then move, and the moment in time seems to continue. People walk past them, like shadows compared to the two colourful girls who look up at the tower in awe. They had no idea of what awaited them in their future. Oscar steps back but as one of the students walks towards him, he walks straight through Oscar, a golden light shimmers across the point of his shoulder where he would have barged into him. Oscar looks at Time questionably.

“Why can’t they see us?” Oscar asks.

“They are as aware of our presence as we are of dust in the wind.” Time tells him, the ball of light in his staff shining bright, casting the spell that conceals them from the people. “We must not reveal our presence to those in the past...even to ourselves.” He says to him, Oscar turns back with eyes that want answers from him.

“Why?” Oscar asks, and Time takes a few moments before he answers his question, a sigh comes out from the head of metal. He looks down at the floor where he stands. Then he answers the question.

“It could cause a Paradox...imagine losing the ability to think...all of your memories disappearing at one moment. You would be erased from everyone’s memory; nobody would ever remember who you were. The Paradox is a punishment of abusing the power we share...if we cause one...we would fracture...become mindless beings...” He explains, with horror in his voice. He has either experienced it and survived, or he has witnessed it.

“Is the Shivering Dominion a Paradox?” Oscar asks. Time looks at him, and then he answers.

“Every tale – has an end.” Time says to him. Oscar looks back at Ruby and he stands next to her, she might be younger than she is now, but he still sees her beauty. He reaches out to her but his hand goes through her, and she never even notices. Yang crosses her arms with a smile on her face, still with both arms. A sight that Oscar has never seen before, and she does not seem as cold as she is now either.

“The view from Vale’s got nothing on this.” Yang says with a smile. As Oscar touches her cheek, Ruby’s eyes widen, gasping as she tightens her fists and holds them by her cheeks, she squeaks and chirps as she eyes up the weapons of those that walk past. Ruby starts pointing repeatedly at a student’s staff as he walks past, not even noticing the two girls there. These students might be dead now for all they know. Weapons sold to the highest bidder, or even to Merlot to create more for the Acolytes of Lien.

“Sis! That kid has a collapsible staff!” She giggles with amazement and Oscar takes a step back. He knows that she cannot see him, but he still cares. Time looks at them both, either with admiration or judgement in those emotionless optics of his. The Mysterious Man does not interrupt however. Ruby then grabs her sister’s shoulder and the points at a Female Student’s sword with flames trailing from the blade. She gasps so deeply that her lungs nearly inflate three times as large. “And she’s got a fire sword!” Ruby squeals. Ruby reaches outwards with both arms and she walks towards the girl, but Yang grabs her by her red hood and pulls her back, causing the adorable little girl to pipe down. “Ow, Ow...” Ruby moans as her sister pulls her back.

“Easy there, little sister. They’re just weapons.” Yang says with a shrug. Ruby’s head snaps round so fast that she could have broken her neck then and there.

“Just weapons?” She retorts with shock. “They’re an extension of ourselves!” She claims, her hands pushed forward to the two she highlighted with amazement in her voice. “They’re a part of us!” Ruby continues on and on. “They’re so cool!”

“Well why can’t you swoon over your own weapon? Aren’t you happy with it?” Yang asks her, and on cue Ruby transforms her red and black scythe from is deactivated state into melee form, hugging Crescent Rose tight with a smile on her face.

“Of course I’m happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones.” Ruby says with a shrug. It’s like meeting new people, but better.” Ruby explains, looking down at the floor sombrely. Oscar looks back at Time, who has yet to say a word. He holds his staff in one hand, looking at the scene. Yang smirks, grabbing Ruby’s red hood and pulling it down over her eyes, just because she knows how much she hates it when people do that. This moment must have been a few weeks after Yang broke up with Kassius, she must be doing this to hide her sorrow.

“Ruby, come on, why don’t you go on and try and make some new friends?” Yang asks her as Ruby sorts her hood out. Ruby pulls the hood back, looking up at her taller sister, whose as bright as the sun with that glowing blonde hair.

“But why would I need friends when I have you?” She asks.

Oscar turns, seeing a bunch of students that he does not recognise, probably from Patch like they are, running over to Yang. “Well...Actually my friends are here now, gotta go catch up. ‘Kay, c’ya bye!” She rapidly says, darting off with her friends so fast that it knocks Ruby over. She spins round and looks at her sister as they dart towards the huge towers of Beacon Academy.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Ruby screams with confusion as they get smaller and smaller the further they get from her. “Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?” Ruby mumbles in her confused state she is in. “I don’t know what I’m doing...” The dizzy girl complains, falling over into a trolley with lots of containers inside. Oscar laughs a little at her condition. Since the only version of Ruby he ever knew was the strong-headed one who always had a plan of action. Not this unsociable girl who preferred weapons over people. The boxes fly into the air and clatter on the floor around her.

Oscar then is met by a loud, shrieking voice beside him that nearly makes him jump with shock. “What are you doing?” She interrogates, he turns and sees Weiss Schnee stood there. She is wearing an outfit he never saw her wearing before, the white dress and tiara. The Schnee Symbol imprinted on her clothes, and on all the boxes. _Who woulda thunk that that company would be hunting them a couple of years later._

A box falls from Ruby’s head, she looks up at the Schnee Girl, to think this was how they first met. “Uh...sorry.” Ruby apologises honestly and politely.

“Sorry?” Weiss scoffs, pointing at the young girl with her finger. Unknowing to the two of them, Oscar is actually stood in between them. And Time is standing in the distance with his staff in hand. Letting Oscar experience this moment that he is showing him. For whatever reason this serves in Oscar’s hands. “Do you have any idea of how much damage you could have caused?” Weiss interrogates, like a mother to an irresponsible child. Ruby picks up one of the cases and offers it to Weiss, but she snatches it from the Rose’s hands. “Gimme that!” Weiss demands, opening it up to look at the dust vials inside, a variety of colours. “This is Dust mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry.” Weiss explains, like it is some kind of explanation to someone of what it is. Of course Ruby knows what Dust is...

“Uhh...” Ruby groans, still quite dazed from Yang and her friends shooting off past her.

“What are you? Brain dead?” Weiss scoffs. “Dust!” She says, taking out a vial of red dust and swinging it around, causing embers of it to float out from the cap. “Fire, water, lightning, energy!” Weiss lists as she bats the vial over and over again before the girl that would later become not just her leader, but her friend.

“Uhh...” Ruby groans again, sniffing some of the dust which has a similar effect of someone who suffers from Hay-Fever sniffing a pollen coated flower. Her eyes roll back, lids squinting and mouth agape as she starts to sneeze.

“Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?” Weiss questions further. She pushes it further, a waft of red dust brushes across Ruby’s nose. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Weiss shouts.

“Uhhhaaaahhh-Chooo!” Ruby exclaims, sneezing so hard that the red dust actually ignites in a small explosion that detonates the other vials around Weiss as well, covering the girl dressed in all white with ash. Weiss does not even move and Ruby staggers back. The explosion happens around Oscar but has no effect, he chuckles at the scene. Like a sketch from a cartoon. His eyes follow the vial as it flies across the sky and lands on the cold floor, rolling towards the foot of Time as he stands there. But another foot pushes through his form that he has made himself invisible with. He looks at her and steps aside as Blake reaches down, picking the Dust Vial up, reading a book in one hand with her large amber feline eyes. Her outfit, like Ruby’s and Weiss’ is very different to what Oscar remembers. Time stands beside the girl, towering above her. His cape blows in the wind now as he stands there, looking like a Knight as well. Blake looks at the Vial, seeing the snowflake Insignia of the Schnee Dust Company imprinted on the glass. She then looks at the shouting girl covered in ash.

“Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!” Weiss shrieks. Ruby shyly, guiltily, pokes her index fingers together as she shrinks down, replying to the Schnee Heiress.

“I’m really, really sorry.” She apologises, almost tearfully. Weiss rolls her eyes, scoffing.

“Ugh! You complete dolt!” Weiss presses further. “What are you even doing here? Aren’t you a little young to be attending Beacon?” Weiss interrogates, bending downwards to stare Ruby in the eyes, despite the fact that they are the same height, or at least near enough the same height.

“Well...I...” Ruby stammers, but before she can speak any further, Weiss interrupts her yet again.

“This isn’t your ordinary combat school!” Weiss shouts. “It’s not just sparring and practice, you know. We’re here to fight monsters.” Weiss explains, a fact that Ruby has been very well aware of. This moment in time is one that makes Oscar a little apprehensive towards Weiss, not liking her attitude. Although he has also just now seen how much she has changed, softened up to people in general. Still cold as ice, but not towards those she loves. Ironic how most are not even through blood bounds. “So watch where you’re going!” Weiss adds, looking away, clearly taking out her anger of her family troubles on a girl she does not even know. But will in the future.

Then Oscar sees the fire that Ruby has in her body ignite, one she has always had. But always hid. Her eyes narrow and nervous posterior fade as she stands her ground against the Heiress. “Hey! I said I was sorry, _princess_!” Ruby challenges, which makes Oscar smile, seeing the Ruby he has grown to know well.

“It’s Heiress, actually.” Blake chimes in, getting everyone’s attention but Time’s. He remains silent, watching the scene as it unfolds in the background. Blake approaches them both, they both look at her. “Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world.” Blake introduces, which catalyses the smug remarks by Weiss. She has her hands on her hips with a smile on her face.

“Finally! Some recognition!” She praises, sharply staring at Ruby, until Blake continues.

“The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners.” Blake continues. _Questionable Business Partners...the Acolytes of Lien...it must have been known for some time of their involvement with Jacque Schnee._

“What? How dare –” Weiss retorts, her smug behaviour diminished immediately. Ruby starts giggling as Weiss stutters and stumbles through her anger at the situation. “The nerve of –” Weiss stammers at Blake. Weiss looks at Blake’s hand and snatches her red dust vial from her hand, storming off.  Ruby looks at Weiss as she storms off, raising her hand up as she calls to her.

“I promise I’ll make this up to you!” She calls timidly. Ruby sighs, rolling her eyes and looking down at the floor. “I guess I’m not the only one having a rough first day.” She says dejectedly. Ruby quickly aims to liven her mood, looking at where Blake is. “So what’s –” Ruby starts, hoping to have a conversation with Blake, but she only sees her walking away. Little does the young girl realise, that she is also staring at Time who is glaring at her. Sinisterly as well.

Oscar stands beside her and sees her lift her head to the sky, falling to her knees in the centre of the courtyard. She lays backwards on the floor, looking up at the sapphire blue sky. “Welcome to Beacon...” Ruby sighs, closing her eyes and sighing heavily. Oscar stands above her and he reaches down to her, Time watches him as he wants to help her. But he does not realise that Jaune is stood behind him as well. His shadow over his. Oscar looks at his chest, gasping when he sees Jaune’s hand protruding through him, light surrounding the portion of his wrist where it has come through.

“Hey...” Jaune speaks, her eyes open and she looks at him. “I’m Jaune.” He introduces himself. Ruby would be lying if she said that she didn’t have a short-term crush on him for a while. But she shoved that away and focused on her training, and hoping that he and Pyrrha would get together.

Sadly they never got further than that last kiss.

Ruby smiles and grabs onto his hand. “Ruby.” She says to him as he pulls her back up to her feet. Oscar steps aside, looking at them both. Ruby giggles a little when she recognises him. “Aren’t you the guy that threw up on the ship?” She asks him. Jaune groans, leaning back, walking away. “No wait!” She begs, chasing after him. But then she stops walking for a second, looking over her shoulder, turning round when she senses something. She looks at nothing in her eyes...but in reality...she was looking right into Oscar’s eyes.

Somehow she knew...she sensed that he was actually there the whole time. Ruby then continues to pursue Jaune. Oscar does not pursue, he turns to Time and approaches him, looking right at him, more questions up his sleeve. Oscar is dwarfed by the man. “What was the point of all this? Why are you showing me this?” Oscar questions.

“For that moment that just happened.” He explains, pointing his staff at the small moment that just happened. “You had to have been there for when she looked back...for a brief moment she thought someone was there. An ability that the Silver Eyed Warriors have, they can sense our presence. Why do you think she always spoke to you when you met her? How do you think it came to be that you both were captured and taken to Salem? And how do you think that _you_ were the one to be freed?” He asks him, explaining the chain of events that took place. Oscar pieces it together...it was always supposed to happen. He looks up at the being with confused eyes, wanting to know more. “This was also the beginning of all the events to come at this moment. You witnessed the first full interaction of Team R.W.B.Y, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. This was not the very first moment that would trigger the course of events that would lead to the Shivering Dominion’s creation, but it is still extremely important that we see it through.” Time explains, walking away from the scene.

“You’re not explaining this!” Oscar shouts.

Time stops and looks back at him. “Then what do you wish to know?” Time asks.

“What is it about Ruby that is so important?” Oscar asks him, again the first thing on his mind is Ruby’s safety. Time also seems to catch onto that very small detail that could prove to be extremely powerful in the future.

“You and Miss Rose have something more in common than being bound by fate. She too is the last of her kind, at least the last to have been born. Meaning her powers are the strongest. She could be able to stop the Grimm with her power.” He explains to him.

“And the Shivering Dominion?” Oscar asks.

“No...Nothing will stop that. Time has been set, for you it is in your future, for me it is the past. Life ends, only Travellers and Spirits can survive there.” Time explains. “It has also been said – that through the ages – there would come a time when the blood of a young traveller and a young silver eyed warrior would combine, creating peace. And I have already witnessed the birth of this prophecy becoming true.” He explains, looking at Oscar. “Simply by bringing you here I have seen that you are in love with the girl, and I know that she might share similar feelings.” He explains.

“What? No – I – I don’t have...” He stammers, trying to deny it to the man that can travel through time at a moment’s notice.

“I have seen your past and all of your possible futures. Many of those futures contain a smitten fondness towards the young girl. No point lying to me, Oscar.” Time states, and he sighs, looking down shyly at the floor. “But if I were you, I would drop those feelings while you still can.” He suddenly says, walking away. Oscar looks at him with confused eyes, thinking that Time is contradicting himself on his own statements.

“But you just said that we cannot create paradoxes.” Oscar says.

“Yes, but no matter what happens. No matter if the two of you mate in the future and produce the prophesized child, it will not stop the Dominion. Darkness will end time...nothing can stop that.” Time explains, walking away from Oscar, the land begins to crack and erode as he shifts time around them. But Oscar ignores that, pursuing the man that kidnapped his mind.

“But we need to help her. How I feel does not matter about that, tell me is her freedom required for certain points in time?” Oscar inquires. Time looks Oscar in the eyes as he stands there.

“Yes.” Time agrees.

“Then help us save her.” He begs. Time looks at him.

“You must remember, I do not seek the survival of life...I do not care for it. I have seen Humanity and Faunus shed more blood over the thousands of years that they have existed than air I have breathed. I serve Remnant and Time...nothing more.” He explains. “And time eventually ends.” He states.

He is not on their side, he is on the side of Time. “Will freeing her help the course of time?” Oscar questions, hoping it will get him to help.

“Yes.” Time agrees again.

“Then help.” Oscar begs. Time remains silent for a while and a sigh emerges from the metal skull of his. He looks at him and then speaks again.

“I will not physically help you...but I can show you what your friends hoped to find in that book.” He explains. Oscar just nods, despite having no idea of what he is talking about. He just wants to free Ruby.

“Do it.” Oscar begs.

Time lifts his staff up and slams it down hard on the ground, creating a deafening back that shatters the landscape around them into Glass-Like shards, creating a dark surrounding. Oscar takes a few steps backwards with confused eyes, trying to figure out where he is. But then, he finds himself being thrown from this place, and into the ocean. He screams, looking at Time as he stands here. “Your presence is required here as well...when your purpose is done here...I will return you back to your present time.” He promises, a wave crashes against Time’s body and he vanishes. A lightning flash reveals a small Hummingbird fluttering away into the sky, disappearing from his view.

Oscar panics, trying to stay afloat in the storm, water crashing against his face as he tries to swim but he cannot. The wind howls aggressively, the thwacks and cracks of lightning are continuous. He splutters salty seawater from his mouth. As he continues to be washed around in the storm, he is suddenly thrown into a rock in the water so hard, that it knocks him unconscious.

 

Hours later...

Oscar has washed up on the shores of a landmass that nobody recognises. Blood leaks from the wound on his head, water against his body. Seagulls cry out, circling above him, the storm has passed. Water leaks out from his mouth where he lays, suddenly he feels a pair of large hands pressing down on his ribcage over and over again. “Come on, kid...don’t give up on me.” The man begs, pressing down and down over and over again to try and save his life. He slams his fist into his chest, and Oscar’s eyes open and he gasps, coughing up water, the man rolls him over so then he can throw the salty water up from his throat and lungs. He presses his hands into the sand to recover. The man has his hand on his shoulder to help him. Oscar takes a couple seconds to recover from his swim in the sea and the man helps him sit up.

He notices that the man is wearing a set of dark armour with a sword sheathed on his belt. Along with many vials of what looks like potions. He has scratches on the armour and scars on his neck from battles against some things. He turns and sees small Nevermores cawing as they pick at the remains of a ship that crashed in the storm. He looks at the man who has dark black hair, a short stubbly beard has grown on his face as well. He is muscular, built for combat against many things. He has a pair of green eyes as he looks down at Oscar’s hazel coloured eyes. “Shouldn’t be swimming in a storm, pal.” The man says to him and Oscar chuckles, still spluttering water from his mouth.

“Didn’t...plan on it.” He stammers.

“Were you on that ship?” The man asks, pointing at the shipwreck. Oscar realises something that is quite chilling. This is no Hallucination, Time must have taken him from when he was speaking to Blake and the others and brought Oscar with him on this journey through time itself. Now he is here...wherever he is.

Oscar is confused, but he decides to just tell a lie and say he was. “Yeah...think so...can’t remember.” He groans, hand on his bleeding head. The man looks at the wound and then sighs.

“That’s gonna need stitches. Don’t worry, there’s a nurse who can help you back home.” He says, standing up and helping Oscar up in the process. Oscar looks around.

“Where are we?” He asks, he looks at Oscar with a surprised look.

“Where’d ya think?” The knight asks.

“I dunno...a little dazed right now...might have a concussion.” He explains. The knight nods with understanding agreement.

“Fair enough.” He says, walking over to him. “We’re at Arkhonex.” He says, and Oscar’s eyes widen when he realises...he is very far away from home. Thousands and years away.

“Arkhonex?” He asks with horror in his eyes.

“It is indeed, don’t know if you’ve been there before, but it is beautiful today. Come on, let’s go.” He says, walking over to his horse that is waiting for him. He climbs onto the saddle, and Oscar cautiously approaches him, looking at the hand that reaches down. He grabs his hand and the Knight pulls him up onto the saddle. Before he sets off, Oscar decides to ask a simple question.

“What’s your name?” Oscar asks him.

“Krekras Blackridge, you?” He asks...the same knight from the previous Visionary Book, the one that killed the Grimm Wyvern. Also known as the Archangel.

“Oscar.” He answers.

Time has sent Oscar to Arkhonex...but for what reason?


	34. The Traveller's Journey - Pt. 1

**Oscar**

Oscar remains seated on the back of the saddle behind Krekras Blackridge. The air in Arkhoni times feels so different, so much cleaner than what it is now. And yet it feels warmer as well, it seems as if over time the climates have changed dramatically. He does not really recognise where he is, for thousands of years have passed. The surroundings have morphed greatly. The ocean crashes against the Cliffside beneath them, the horse however does not seem troubled by the perilous drop a couple feet from it. The water is a deep sapphire blue, whales singing in the seas as they move through. But in the distance there are Grimm as well, types that they’ve never seen. The ones that flock around the shores are massive bat like creatures, wings with bones protruding through the black membrane. Their eyes glowing afire, screeches echoing for miles as they feast on the corpses of those in the shipwreck. Oscar watches the huge bats, but when they get closer, his eyes are drawn to a magnificent beauty.

The trees seem to part open, revealing the city of Arkhonex before him. He gasps with amazement, he may still be struggling to see at the moment due to his concussion, but he can clearly see the enormous city, buildings on the land and built into the cliff faces. Huge expansions of emerald green fields stretch across the hills and the farmlands in the distance, sheep and cattle moving around faintly. Specks of white that wander around and graze on the grass. The city is also one stunning sight as well, for it has so many unique colours to it. From reds to oranges to browns. The sun shines bright in the sky; the morning is incredible to set eyes on. And this appears to simply be the docks of the city. Huge barges and ferries preparing to set sail. “Welcome to the City of Arkhonex.” Krekras announces, looking at the beautiful place, his hand near the sword that is sheathed on his belt. The belt currently attached to the saddle, along with other precious valuables. Such as potion vials, vials of many forms of dust, ammunition for his crossbow and bow that he has on him as well. He is ready to fight anything, clearly some sort of hunter as well. One that seems to be skilled at killing Grimm.

Kragen clearly said that this was a time long before the creation of Huntsmen; perhaps he is the first one before they were made an order. Simply a man who was paid to kill monsters, he has bags of coin as well. Oscar does not, however, recognise the form of currency. Shiny trinkets that are sold to the bidders for things. Unlike the lien cards that exist in the current day. Oscar feels the brush of the cold air against his face, and when he turns in the direction of which he felt it, he sees something there for a brief second.

A man...

Not time, someone else. The only thing he managed to make out was that he was bald. As a mirage would, he disappeared relatively quickly. He does not have time to think on who that could have been, for the horse enters the gates that open up on the cliff face. “Doubt you’ve ever seen such a beautiful place in your life, right? Must have been living out in the Trebuxian Farmlands or the Anxuarian Desert, am I right?” Krekras asks Oscar, completely flabbergasting him. These places...he has never heard of them, although the locations do sound a little bit like places back home. Anima is a large continent and is usually used for farming, and Vacuo is Remnant’s largest desert area, so perhaps those are the areas. He was _born_ in Mistral, so perhaps that is his best bet. He needs to seem like he has come from this time, not the future.

“Trebuxian Farmlands.” Oscar answers quietly, still dazed from the concussion. Krekras nods his head up and down, seemingly understanding the answer.

“I thought so, seemed like it from the grooves in your hands.” He says, causing Oscar to examine his hands. They do have calluses across the palms from the work on the farm back home with his Aunt...who might not be his aunt at all anymore. He then looks at the Knight that rides him towards the city.

“How did you?” Oscar asks nervously.

“I’m a Vanguard; people like me are hired by the people to deal with the Creatures of Grimm outside of our walls. If I can save as many lives as I can, then that is even better.” He explains as he rides. Perhaps...the Vanguards are where the Huntsmen started. But they seem more like mercenaries than warriors, not many seem to be heard of, as they fight hard and use many things to their advantage.

Oscar gasps with awe as he looks around the huge festival that is going on. Ribbons from red to green to blue hug up above the streets in multiple locations. What a beautiful sight it is indeed, the sun gleaming off the thin fabric and silk that decorates the streets. Civilians walk around the area, their attire is very different to what it is now. Mostly robes and knitted clothes, not as well made and compact as the modern-day era clothing. A combination of both Human and Faunus live here as well, the Faunus are accepted here. No White Fang presence, no racial slurs. This is a time that Oscar and the rest of the team have never seen before. A time of real peace, where people are not at each other’s throats.

 It all seems so perfect in Arkhonex.

Which begs the question.

How did it all fall apart?

Krekras halts his horse outside of a hospital and he hops off from the saddle, picking the boy up and setting him down with ease. Too weak and dazed to argue, Oscar lets the man from the past help him. Krekras guides the boy inside, and Oscar does not even notice the symbol that is on the door of the hospital. The shape of a snowflake...the Schnee Family Symbol.

Krekras walks in, the bell rings and a woman looks up, bright and happy to see him. She has long locks of ashen white hair that seems to glisten like snow. She has large blue eyes, and a smile on her face, wearing a white dress which bears the same symbol. She has a heart shaped head with big round eyes, and her caring nature instantly brings her over to the boy, she crouches down and inspects the wound. “Oh dear, where’d you find this poor soul, Krekras?” She asks him. She has a soft sultry voice that matches her beauty; on her finger is a stunning ring as well. Constructed with emeralds, sapphires and rubies. An engagement ring, and on the other finger is her wedding ring, made from pure gold.

“Washed up on shore, another shipwreck from the storm. Managed to save him before the Camazotz did.” Krekras tells her. She gasps and looks at the boy, checking Oscar’s wound.

“It will need stitches.” She says to him, wiping the blood from his forehead.

“Would you be able to take him, fix him up? I need to talk to the Captain about the mission.” He says to her.

“Of course, I’ll catch up with you at The Silent Queen.” She says to him. Krekras nods and pats Oscar on the head before leaving.

“Hopefully I’ll see you again, kiddo.” Krekras says to him, leaving the hospital. The nurse caresses Oscar’s cheek gently and rises up. She is taller than he is, but Krekras towered above her. She puts her hand behind his back and guided him.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s patch that wound up.” She says to him. “My name is Starla Schnee.” She greets.

The nurse – is Loss.

A few minutes later...

Oscar is sat down on a bed whilst the kind woman tends to the wound with some stitches and a needle. She washes the blood off and precisely threads the needle, her hand so steady. Unknowingly, Oscar has now met the Knight of Loss before she became the Spiritual Monster that she is now. And it seems that she still grasps onto what she aimed to do before becoming the Knight than the others. For she is still caring and does not enjoy taking lives, but she does not have a choice in the matter. She takes a sponge, soaked with clean water, and she wipes the blood from his forehead. Oscar winces from the sharp pains from his injury, but Starla manages to calm him with a gentle shush. Oscar looks at Weiss’ ancestor, and she looks just like her. It is almost scary from how alike they really are. However Starla seems to be much kinder than she is, Weiss can be kind, but she is not like this. Starla has a motherly kindness that few people tend to share. She then speaks to him again, to keep his mind off the needle and stitches in his head. “So why were you on that ship?” Starla asks him. He has had a little bit of time to come up with a story to tell that the can believe. Nobody would believe him if he told them the truth, that he is a Time Traveller from the future. And who knows what that would do?

He looks at her with is hazel coloured eyes and he answers. “I was a stowaway, wanted to find adventure somewhere else. I hid in the cargo hold of the ship and I wanted to get out here. Then the storm hit.” He explains and Starla listens to ever word. Probably every syllable, a hell of a gift to be able to listen that carefully and repair a wound as calmly as she can.

“On a Merchant Ship? Must have been pretty tight down there.” Starla says with a small laugh. Oscar chuckles as well, able to keep up his story by adding that to it as well.

“Yeah, when we hit the rocks, I wasn’t thrown around much. Thought I was gonna drown, till the hull tore and I was pulled out into open water.” He explains, making the story up on the spot. Luckily, Starla buys it and she sits there, shocked that someone his age would have to go through an experience like that. And yet, she is impressed that he managed to come out of all of that with minor hypothermia and a grazed forehead.

“Well, you were lucky than most.” Starla says with a sigh. “The storms are viscous on those waters, not many sailors get to come back with what you have.” She explains to him.

“Did no one else survive the wreckage?” Oscar asks her, and she looks at him. A compassionate smile appears on her face and she shakes her head.

“No, not a single one other than you. Picked off by the Grimm, damned things...” She growls with anger. He then notices that she has a noticeable trademark of an Archer, she has the marks of which where Bowstring has been pressed against for long periods of time. Like a scar from using it so much, and he quickly catches on.

“Are you a – Vanguard? Like the one that saved me?” Oscar curiously asks her. She looks at him and then smiles.

“Yes, not as skilled in swordplay as Krekras, but I can outmatch him in Archery. I tend to go on hunts with him and another friend of ours, his name is Rylen Vazquez.” She explains and Oscar looks at her. “He is pretty good with Scythes and such, but other than being a Vanguard, he and I tend to work in theatre. I sing, he performs. And he is pretty good about it.” Starla whispers to him. “But don’t tell him I said that, I’ll never here the end of it.” She says with a giggle. On a hunch, Oscar decides to pry deeper into this man. A lot sounds very familiar.

“Does he like to talk a lot?” Oscar inquires.

“Oh yes.” Starla answers with a laugh.

That settles it then. There is no one else he could be. He uses a scythe, theatrics are his forte and he talks a lot. It must be him – it must be Fear before he became a Knight.

She finishes up on the stitches and then she picks up a bandage and she presses it against the closed up wound. Oscar feels extremely out of place still, as he would be, being thrown thousands of years into the past. In a land he does not know, into a civilization that has been dead for thousands of years. The main thing that is on his mind however is that he is speaking Common from Modern-Day to her, how come he can understand her? The other books or projections, even the hieroglyphics, they are all in Ancient Arkhoni Tongue.

Somehow he has been able to understand what it is that they are saying. Starla sighs and then she looks at him. “Well, you’re good to go. Take it easy; maybe have a bath to warm up your muscles and such. Plenty of spas in the area. Make sure that you go to the Silent Queen tonight as well. I will be singing tonight.” She says with a smile, standing up. Oscar sits up, his hand on his forehead still. It still throbs like mad from the pain. He sits there and she reaches into a box and then gives him something. He looks at it.

It’s a lollypop.

The round head of the sweet is bright red and sticky, tasting like strawberries, extremely sweet as well. Covered with sugar most likely, but he is not about to complain. “For being so brave.” She sarcastically says with a smile. Oscar smiles and he walks away from her. He stops and looks back.

“Thank you.” He says to her, walking further. She smiles, waving goodbye as he leaves. He walks outside of the hospital, looking around. He wants to explore this beautiful place, but he must keep his mind on his task. Whatever that task is. Oscar begins to run all the areas of this in his head.

_Time sent me here after I asked for his help...what could I possibly do here that is important? Will I figure out how to get to the Volcanic Chain Isles from this time? What was that Vanguard talking about? A Captain? Could that be in link to whatever it is about. I need to find a way to help Ruby._

_But where do I start?_

“You start by following in their footsteps.” A man says, making Oscar jump from the sudden introduction. He could hear him think, and Oscar turns quickly to face the illusive man that stands behind him. He has his hands held together, standing beside a tree. He wears the clothes of a mere merchant, brownish in colour with a couple of satchels attached to his belt. He has a completely shaven skull and a smile on his face, one that is incredibly inviting. He has one leg crossed across the other where he stands. Oscar looks at the man nervously, trying to find out how he heard what he said in his head.

“Who are you?” Oscar questions.

“A mere mangy Clairvoyant. Soothsayer, Fortune Teller, whatever you may call me. I have had many names over the years, but some tend to call me Vir Nominis Umbra.” The man introduces, bowing theatrically to Oscar. Oscar quizzically looks at the man and he approaches him cautiously. There is something rather unnerving about him, how charismatic he is.

“How did you hear what I was thinking?” Oscar asks him.

Umbra chuckles. “I told you – I am a Soothsayer, I am a master of reading thoughts.” He explains. Oscar keeps his distance from him. After meeting Time and many other individuals, he is nowhere near as trusting as he used to be.

“Do you know who I am?” Oscar asks him.

“Oscar Pine, born in Mistral, as a farmhand for your Adopted Aunt. One of the Last Travellers in existence. Seems you are on your own journey right now.” He says, looking around the area. Oscar is befuddled by how much he knows.

“Are you also a Traveller?” He asks. Umbra smiles at him, tilting his head.

“Perhaps.” He says. “I will simply say that we have met once before.” He says.

“When?” Oscar asks.

Vir Nominis Umbra laughs. “I’m not about to give away all the plot details, son.” He chuckles, making Oscar look down at the floor. This guy, he knows a lot about him. _Could it be Time? Could Time shift his forms to disguise himself amongst individuals?_ This is definitely the same man that he saw for a brief second before vanishing before he entered the Hospital with Krekras Blackridge.

“Okay then...do you know why I am here?” He asks.

“To find answers – for your beloved Ruby Rose.” He says with a smile, the nervous boy looks away. He is still unsure of his own feelings for the beautiful girl. But it seems that these beings that are following him know more about his emotions than he does. “Fortunately I might be able to assist.” He says, grasping his attention so fast that he nearly snaps his neck from looking at the Soothsayer so fast.

“You can?” Oscar asks emphatically. Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles, clapping his hands together, pushing away from the tree that he was leant against as soon as he appeared.

“Indeed, for there is a journey that awaits you, here at this proud city.” He explains, approaching him.

“Tell me.” Oscar begs. Vir Nominis Umbra approaches Oscar, looking him in the eyes and he looks up at the sunny skies. He crosses his arms when he looks at the boy and then he begins to tell him.

“It all starts with a tale, a tale of a brutish thug that sails the seas of Remnant, killing and stealing all he can. A heart that burns constantly with anger, and hatred fuels the two axes that he carries with him on his raids.” He explains, and quickly Oscar recognises the description. But before he can even think of it, Umbra continues to speak against him. “The people in this time simply know him as Axzura Vex, but in the time you travelled here from, you know him as – Fury.” Umbra speaks, and Oscar stands there, astounded from the tale that he just told. But he struggles to see how this affects him.

“Get to the point.” Oscar tells him.

“Well, you see, the Vanguard that rescued you from that wreckage when you were tossed into the sea. He and some other Vanguards are preparing to set sail in one week to the Volcanic Chain Isles in order to find him.” He explains. Oscar sighs as he stands there, grabbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“That’s so long away...” He groans. Umbra doesn’t say a word; just a big smirk grows on his face. Oscar looks and notices that he is pointing at his watch. Then Oscar remembers. “Oh yeah.” He says.

“Luckily for you Travellers, time is not an obstacle, it is a tool.” He explains. Oscar takes a step closer to the Soothsayer, wanting to learn more from him. Especially about the Pirate Captain.

“How much do you know of him? Axzura Vex?” He asks him curiously.

“I can tell you what I know. I know that the man has suffered great loss, and that loss made him be plagued with rage. Such rage turned the man into an insufferable monster, one who enjoys seeing others suffer the same way that he did. He let his greed get the better of him, for all he ever thinks of is his beloved treasure.” He explains. “Even now, thousands of years from today, he still thinks of his beloved treasure.” He explains.

“If he hid it there, why has he not gone back for it?” Oscar queries.

“Well that’s the catch, he was captured from his trove, and a storm barrier was created by those who stopped him. You will not experience the Storm Wall in this time, but who knows...if you keep your eyes peeled, you may find another way.” He explains, walking around Oscar as he talks. Oscar thinks and thinks, and then he looks at the man, approaching the tree once more.

“So I need to figure out how to wait in time?” Oscar asks.

“Well, yes...but if I were you...I would go to that tavern first at midnight. Watch the show that the pretty Schnee Woman is going to put up with that Rylen fellow. You might just enjoy yourself.” He says with a smile. Oscar turns round to follow him, but Vir Nominis Umbra has just vanished.

As quickly as he appeared.

Oscar groans, grabbing the side of his head with pain, still getting that throbbing pain from his concussion. He cannot help the urge to look at his peripheral when he notices something.

His shadow.

 

 

**Fury**

Outside of Oscar’s travels...

Fury is sat down at Salem’s Sanctum, after his battle against the Huntsmen and Huntresses at the Library; he has been waiting for his orders. Staring intently out the windows, fire burning, raging hot around his charred body. Eyes glowing afire, magma swelling hot inside that black armoured pumice skin of his. His huge hands clutch onto the burning Berserker Axes tight, he has not let go since he has been thinking. He can hear the horrible yells of Tyrian, and the cries of pain of Ruby as she suffers from the pain that he is putting her through. Every time, Fury’s eyes glow brighter and brighter with rage. Her screams of pain cannot be helped from whatever it is that Tyrian is doing to her. Recording it with his camera as well to send it to them. Fury looks over and he sees Death stood in the corner of the room with Ferrum Arctus buried down into the floor. Sat in her throne is Salem, slumped forward with her head on her hand, like she is almost sad, and they all do not seem to like what Tyrian is doing to her. She is their enemy, but she is no use to them dead.

Fury hears the wails of the little girl again, and something unseen seems to snap in him. He rises up aggressively, dragging the blades of his burning axes across the cold stone floor. Sparks erupt from the movement. Death and Salem look at him as he walks away, the deep volcanic stomps of his movements getting further and further away, Salem looks at him, and then at Death. Death simply pulls his claymore from the ground, and he walks off as well, leaving Salem alone in her empire of dirt. A heavy sigh leaves Salem’s mouth.

In Ruby’s cell, the crying girl is being beaten, slashed, and soon will be burned from the same branding iron she used on Tyrian’s eye. He is heating it up; a camera records her torment constantly. She is tough, but there is only so much that someone can suffer before they break down into tears. He grabs her by her hair, punching her in the stomach; a wail of agony escapes her lungs, crashing down onto the floor. He extends his blade, slashing her cheek with it, drawing blood. She sniffles with pain, looking at him with her only eye with hatred through the tears; she still acts as defiant as she can. But this only seems to anger him further and further.

Until suddenly Fury’s massive burning hand grabs onto his shoulder, and he is thrown away from her, straight into the cell bars that once belonged to Oscar. The impact is so hard that the metal bars bend inwards. He hits the floor with a groan, looking up at Fury where he stands. Between Ruby and Tyrian, his other hand holding his axe tight with rage in his glowing hot eyes. His molten teeth are gritted tight, cinders leaking from them like saliva. Tyrian looks at Fury with fear, and he sees Fury grab the camera that is still recording the tortured girl, and he melts it in his palm, whilst still staring at Tyrian. Tyrian gasps, rising back up, fleeing back in the direction to Salem. Fury ignores the man, and he grabs the cell door, closing it so she does not try another escape attempt.

He does not look at Ruby, but she is looking at him. Ruby wipes a tear from her bruised cheeks and she leans against the wall, other hand on her beaten belly. She coughs and blood comes out of her lips, most likely suffering some kind of internal rupture from his attacks. Fury then looks at her when she wants to talk to him. “Why did you do that for me?” Ruby asks. Fury does not say much, but the little he says has a lot of power behind it.

“I cannot hear children cry.” He says, the flames around his body die down for a few moments, honest emotion seeming to appear there. He is more than the spirit of rage, there is still a man inside there. But for a man who has been described as a merciless slaughterer, why would he hate to hear children in pain? Fury remains silent, the fire around him burns hot again, and he walks away from Ruby’s cell, back to where he was waiting.

Ruby slumps down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs, amazed that Fury, of all the Knights, was the one to stop Tyrian from torturing her. Even they are starting to have enough of Tyrian’s antics. When Ruby sits there, she feels a tear leaking from her eye, sorrow appearing, she then sees Loss walking into her point of view. She looks so different now, that beauty that Oscar saw when she patched him up, hidden by a veil of shadows. Loss sighs as she watches Fury, sitting back down. Ruby looks up at the woman. “What did he mean?” Ruby asks her, her voice weak. Loss looks at her, and she walks closer, actually walking through the bars like a ghost. She approaches her side, and Ruby crawls away from her, against the wall. But Loss stops her, and opposed to a cold hand, her hand actually feels warm and calming.

“It’s okay, my poor flower.” She gently says, her voice is still there. And unlike the others, her kind personality is still there. She does not seem to kill out of choice, but more that something else is making her do it. Perhaps they are all the same way. They have been described as tortured souls, perhaps that is true after all. Ruby stops, and looks at her with nervous eyes.

“What – What are you doing?” Ruby nervously asks her.

Loss touches her cheek, and to Ruby’s amazement, she feels her pain fade away pretty much instantly. From the touch, her eyes glow bright blue and her hand glows as well, the bruises fade away, and the pain in her belly goes away as well. Loss is still Starla Schnee in there, perhaps she is closer to who she was than the others are now. Fury still has personality, perhaps somewhere in that rotten exterior, Rylen Vazquez is still inside. And whoever Death is...maybe he is still inside as well. Ruby looks at her, and she hopes that her eye has returned, but it has not. “I cannot repair everything.” Loss sadly says, and Ruby looks down at the floor. Loss then looks to Fury, where he sits.

Loss sighs. “He has lost everything; he has nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to live for...all he has left...is rage.” She explains, and Ruby looks at her, seeing the woman as she looks at the burning being not far from her. She cannot help but notice that she did not feel anger when he approached, but Tyrian did. He directed his rage onto Tyrian, not Ruby. “Axzura sacrificed many things on his journey to find power, wealth...a future, including many lives, but he could never take the life of a child. He could slaughter millions of adults without regret, but a child? He cannot do it.” Loss explains, and Ruby feels sad, but she still remembers what she saw at Mistral.

“I saw what he did to Team A.B.R.N, what you all did.” She says to her, and Loss sighs, with what sounds like the deepest regret.

“Sometimes, our cursed souls do not have a choice, our weapons decide for us.” Loss explains, looking at her Bow on the ground. She stands up, picking her Bow up and walking out of her cell, closing it behind Ruby. “Get some sleep, for we will be going soon.” Loss tells her.

Ruby looks down the hallway at Fury, where he sits, waiting for his next battle.

For he has nothing left.

Only that Treasure Trove.

 

**Oscar**

He stands there after Vir Nominis Umbra has left the scene, many would find that unexplainable. But after some of the things that he has learned lately, nothing can surprise him anymore. He thinks carefully, and he closes his eyes. He needs to learn how to move time effectively. He has been trying for some time now, and being able to land on a specific time is incredibly difficult. The sun passes across the sky and falls behind the horizon, and then the moon rises into the centre of the sky afterwards. Every time he misses it by a few minutes or a few hours. He sighs after the fiftieth attempt, and he technically has lost no time whatsoever. He sighs with annoyance; he needs to land on Midnight.

He can see the tavern ahead of him. He closes his eyes and he thinks of midnight. Thinking of anything, Werewolves, Vampires. Anything that links to Midnight. He feels the surroundings moving around him as he pushes time onwards and then he stops it. He looks up at the Clocktower.

He hit Midnight dead on.

Finally!

He walks towards the Silent Queen Tavern, pushing the doors open and he looks around. Inside are many attendees. A man emerges from the red curtains on the stage. He is a tall man wearing a suit. He bows before them, and Oscar sits down on a bench, seeing him perform. “Hello, hello! How are we doing on this fine eve, everyone?” The man asks them with a laugh in his voice. He can already tell, the same way he could tell from Starla. That is Fear, Rylen Vazquez. The same charismatic and theatrical voice. He was once a performer, an actor.

The crowd cheers for him and he laughs, pacing around the stage with the microphone in his hand. Strange how most of the time it feels like Oscar has been thrown into a medieval land, and yet they have modern style technology as well. Oscar does not pay much attention to these displays, since he notices that Time is stood in the background, his staff in his hand. But Oscar looks away, noticing that Krekras Blackridge has entered the tavern with another man. He is much taller with a short beard and a mace on his back. He is a captain of a vessel. The Captain he spoke of.

But when they sit down, time seems to fly by as Rylen displays to them all. Showing the story of a monster being played by a man – Rylen himself – against a hero that would fight him to save a fair maiden. But the monster was defeated, not by a sword, but by something else.

The monster, or Rylen, takes a step back and the knight actor looks over, seeing a beautiful woman in a dress and long white hair. She sits atop a desk, crossing one leg over the other, holding a small lute that she begins to play. It’s Starla Schnee, and she plays each string of the lute with beautiful expertise. Rylen stands there, dressed up as a monster that everyone fears, listening to her voice as she sings. Everyone turns to look at her as she begins to sing.

“I have made more mistakes in one life than many others...” She begins, her voice like that of a nightingale, extraordinarily beautiful. “...all to bind our fortunes, damned what the world says!” She continues, capturing the souls of everyone in the room. “We opened our hearts – opened our souls – to the deals of another.” She continues. As she sings, Oscar begins to notice something familiar about this song. Something about the Knights in general. They opened their souls to the Merchant in the tale...perhaps this could be some link? “You promised we could be together for years to come, but all I have seen is betrayal and envy.” She follows on, now sounding like some love story.

Oscar is struggling to piece together the meaning behind this song. “A winding weaving fate of which we both atone.” Starla sings, her eyes closed as she memorises the lyrics perfectly. Rylen stands there, and he acts out the creature getting weaker. Her song seems to defeat the creature as she sings to the beast. “And yet – despite everything I did for you – you flee from my side come the morning.” Starla sings, her voice echoes through the room, through everyone that listens to the chords of her voice. “Once smelled of lavender and roses, but now I see what I’ve become.” She sings. “My golden, inhuman, eyes glisten in the tears of yours.” She continues.

Oscar is starting to understand the song more and more when he listens to the lyrics. “I vowed to follow the crow into the storm...” She continues. As she sings, a man walks past the window, and stops to look in with a smile on his face. Shaven head, hands together and clothes of a merchant. The Clairvoyant, also known as Vir Nominis Umbra, has made yet another appearance. He listens with a smile on his face, listening to her beautiful voice. This is clearly where Weiss has gotten her singing talent. “...But beyond that storm, was nothing but a Merchant...” She sings on. “Wares and Gifts on offer, wishes granted, but not our wants.” Starla sings.

The lyrics sound like the Tale of the Knights of Grimm. The Knights met a merchant on the path and he gave them weapons of extraordinary power, and in the fable, they became what they are now. “Gifts plagued with curses, fire, dismay and loss...” She sings, Oscar looks down at the floor. The others in the building do not seem to understand the importance of this song. But the real question is – if this is Loss, then how come she fell for the trap. Unless it was a failed attempt by Time to stop it from happening? “When I returned to hold you in a heated embrace – you fled from my hands come morning.” She sings, hitting the notes perfectly. “Once smelled of lavender and roses, but now I see what I’ve become.” She sings. “My golden, inhuman, eyes glisten in the tears of yours.” She continues.

Oscar looks at Starla Schnee as she continues to sing. “I know I made promises – ones I will never complete as one. Or if by lies I have been punished for them.” Starla sings on. “Bound by a mistaken wish, all those years ago, all I ever wish for is to see your eyes again.” Starla sings, her eyes meeting Oscars with a smile on her face, one that hits the boy in the chest. “But when you see the face I’ve become – you will flee come morning.” She sings. Now the person knows that their betrothed will flee, it has gone from her fleeing at first, to fleeing again, to the person knowing the betrothed will flee. “Once smelled of lavender and roses, but now I see what I’ve become.” She sings. “My golden, inhuman, eyes glisten in the tears of yours.” She continues.

People in the tavern begin to cry at her beautiful song, and Rylen collapses as the beast, being beaten by the song. Vir Nominis Umbra turns and walks away from the Tavern, smirking as he leaves the scene without Oscar even realising he was there.

The moral of the story?

Making bad decisions, bad wishes, can drive the ones you love away.

And forge you into a monster.

Everyone stands up as she puts the lute down and they all applaud.


	35. The Traveller's Journey - Pt. 1

**Oscar**

The song has come to a close, and everyone applauds for the beautiful woman as she bows before her audience. Oscar smiles and he claps as well, stood tall with Krekras Blackridge not far away, along with the captain of a ship. He has his arms crossed, whilst Krekras applauds Starla. Rylen gets up and he applauds her as well, taking the mask that he wore off his head and he bows to the crowd as well. “Thank you! Thank you for coming tonight! Enjoy your evening!” He cheers to them, leaning back enthusiastically as he speaks into the microphone.

Some time passes as Oscar waits and he listens in on the conversation that Krekras is having with the captain. The crowd are clearing out from the tavern, returning to their homes in the dead of night. The performers are packing their equipment away and Starla has already left to go home for the night. Oscar eavesdrops on the conversation between Blackridge and the Captain. “So do you know exactly where to find Vex?” Krekras inquires with his arms crossed.

“Our sources are undeniable. A survivor from the most recent wreck by his hands told us he was headed east from the bays of the Trebuxian Bay. The only spot of land close to that point are the Volcanic Chain Isles.” The Captain continues, his mace set on the table as he speaks to the Vanguard. Krekras scratches the stubble across his chin as he thinks about it. He exhales through his nostrils.

“I dunno, its dangerous going out there, Cap.” Krekras tells him, but then the Captain cracks and he smashes his fist against the wooden table to get his attention.

“That bastard murdered my wife and children on that ship. Sunk the vessel to the depths and I never got say goodbye. I will get my vengeance, Blackridge, I don’t care about the risks. Now are you gonna come with me?” The Captain snaps, and Krekras looks at him, and then he holds his hands up at the Captain to calm him.

“Calm yourself, Wymerus. I never said I was out, I was just letting you know that going there is a dangerous prospect. Not many people return from those isles due to the congregation of Grimm that live there. And hell, some say that it’s cursed.” Krekras explains to the Captain, telling the tales of this mysterious land.

“I know, I’ve also heard that only a Silver Eyed Warrior can open the gateway of storms.” Wymerus says back to him.

“Well, it’s a good thing that a very close friend of mine is in fact a Silver Eyed Warrior. I can find him and recruit him, if you like.” Krekras says with a simple shrug of his shoulders. Captain Wymerus waits a couple moments and then he answers.

“Alright, see if he will help. It must mean, though, that Vex must have a Silver Eyed Warrior of his own.” Wymerus states.

“We can handle that when we get to it. I’ve fought worse than Silver Eyed Warriors.” He explains.

“Just try not to become something worse than them.” Wymerus asks.

“No promises.” Krekras chuckles, taking a swig of his tankard of mead. He sets the tankard down on the wooden table and he exhales. “So – when do we head out on the seas?” Krekras asks him.

“A week’s time, we’re gonna need all the provisions and fighters we can. I trust you and those Vanguard friends of yours can handle it, but we still need fodder.” Wymerus explains, a cold ideal he has on his mind. Shows how desperate he has become for something so simple as revenge. _Vengeance...is it possible? Could Wymerus be the Knight of Vengeance? The Defeated Knight? The only Knight to have found peace in the afterlife?_

Krekras nods his head. “The Dauntless, understood. We’ll be there in the coming week.” He says as he stands up, holding his sword after picking it up and off the table. He connects the scabbard to his magnetic strip that runs down his back, and he leaves the tavern. Wymerus stays inside, drinking out of his tankard. Oscar keeps his hazel eyes on his, he has blue eyes, and he does not seem to notice the Traveller.

“Oscar Pine?” A man asks, making him jump, he turns with wide eyes, and he meets the yellow eyes of the man behind him. He still wears his Monster Outfit bar the helmet of the creature. He laughs from his reaction, hand on his head, taking a step backwards. “So sorry, son, didn’t mean to scare you, at least not that time.” He says with a wink. Oscar exhales with relief, because his voice is exactly the same, just less demonic now than it is in the present day. His skin not torn apart and rotten, not transforming into a gigantic bat that can strike fear into the hearts of all that see it.

“Yes...that’s my name.” Oscar answers, shaking that shock off his shoulders. Rylen pats his shoulder and he sits down beside him, looking at him as he crosses his legs. He leans back against the seat and looks up at the ceiling at some maids that walk around. He winks at one of them and she giggles, walking off.

“Got yourself a fair maiden?” He asks Oscar, making his eyes widen nervously, and he looks at Rylen. The man that would later become the Knight of Fear. The main question that rattles around his mind is simply – _how do the Knights not remember him? Have their memories become this skewed? Or maybe so much time has passed between their meetings that they have simply dumped those memories in the dirt._

_Unless there is something more sinister behind what happened to them all._

“Excuse me?” Oscar asks him, confused of how else he could possibly respond to such a bizarre question. He is sixteen years old, he is not old enough to have a fair maiden. He might have a crush on Ruby, but that does not mean he does. But the longer he draws the answer out, the more suspicious he might make Rylen. Rylen repeats the question, looking at him with the similar coloured eyes, apart from the glowing nature of them now.

“A fair maiden, a warm body for your bed at night?” He asks him again with a smirk on his face. The smirk seems to give it away, and Oscar furrows his brow.

“Wait a minute – you’re just yanking me around, aren’t you?” Oscar questions. Rylen gasps, leaning back from him.

“Shocking suggestion!” He replies with a smile on his face. “I would never dream of mockery.” He says as he looks up at one of the woman. She is short with a slim body, large blue eyes and purple hair. A very striking looking girl, and Oscar looks away from her, and Rylen spots whom they are looking at.

Rylen leans over to his ear. “They would like what you’re packaging, however.” He whispers, and Oscar gasps, looking at Rylen with scared eyes. Oscar has not even noticed, that all the pretty young girls are all checking him out. From blonde hair, to red to brunette. A lot of very attractive girls that all have their eyes set on the young boy. He looks down at the floor, shy and nervous at what is happening. Rylen chuckles and he pats his back with his hand as he sits there. “I’d be proud of that, buddy. That many gals clamouring over you? I wouldn’t shove them off? Have as many as you please.” He says with a chuckle as he sits there. Oscar is realising that he has not been around places like this before, and not only that, he is in a very different time zone. One where this is more acceptable, or at least more apparent in bars and taverns. He has never ventured far from home, and has never ventured far from his _Aunt_ so he has never had attention from girls before. Oscar is honestly struggling to come to grips with it in fact, sitting there with a sweat growing on his brow. Knee shaking and sweaty palms, heart pounding at a thousand beats a minute.

He can hear their giggles as they look and converse about him, it all seems to pile up on him, and then he feels Rylen pat his shoulder. It snaps him out of this state that he is in, and he looks at Rylen. “Let me guess – never seen a girl naked before?” He asks him with a chuckle and Oscar sighs.

“I’ve barely spoken to many in my life, other than my Aunt.” Oscar admits and Rylen seems to understand, nodding his head up and down.

“Ah, first experiences with girls your age, then?” He guesses.

“I guess you could say that.” He sighs, scratching the back of his neck. Rylen contorts his lips as he contemplates.

“Well, in my experience, I would simply say that you should just be yourself. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, that way you can wean out the chicks that actually are attracted to your looks – and are attracted to _you_.” He says, putting his finger where Oscar’s heart is, looking at him. Oscar looks at Rylen and his eyebrows lift up. “You get me?”  He asks him.

“Ye-Yeah.” He stammers.

“Of course, if you aren’t ready, wait then. The last thing you wanna do is disappoint a gal with those looks in bed – believe me.” He says as he stands up, whispering in his ear, snapping his finger at him as he walks away. “I’ll see you around, Oscar.” He says, walking away from him. Oscar remains sat there, and the girls are still admiring him from above. He ignores them and keeps his eyes on the task at hand. He needs to get to the Volcanic Chain Isles before it’s too late, needs to find a map and take it. Oscar stands up and he starts to walk out of the tavern, with a thousand things on his mind.

“Getting advice on girls from Fear...didn’t expect that.” He mumbles to himself as he walks. He starts to mumble his thoughts aloud as he walks. “I need to get on that ship...but how am I supposed to get aboard a boat in the coming week? I can’t just ask to get on...” He mumbles to himself. As he walks out, he jumps again when he hears a familiar voice beside him.

“The answer to that question is – you stowaway.” The Soothsayer says unexpectedly. Oscar gasps, nearly jumping out of his skin from how suddenly he appeared. He has his arms crossed and foot pressed against the wooden wall of the building, looking at him in the darkness. “Beautiful display of words by the stunning Mrs Schnee, wasn’t it?” He chuckles, looking at him with a smile. Oscar stands there, staring at the Clairvoyant with confused eyes. He did not see him stood there earlier, or the time before. Vir Nominis Umbra looks at Oscar, smiling away where he stands.

“How do you appear so suddenly?” Oscar asks with a nervous tone of voice.

“I have my ways.” He answers, unhelpfully. Oscar rolls his eyes.

“Guess I should have expected that kind of a response.” He huffs and puffs.

“Indeed you should have, now what did you think of her performance?” Vir Nominis Umbra inquires for a second time.

“It was beautiful.” Oscar answers with a sigh in his voice.

“Yes it was, brought the tavern to tears, and sparked love in the eyes of others it seems.” Vir Nominis Umbra states with a smirk on his face.

“I swear to god, if I hear one more thing about those girls having a thing for me I am gonna go mad.” Oscar threatens, pointing at Vir Nominis Umbra, having no reaction whatsoever to his threat. He simply smiles at him.

“Come on Oscar, every man desires the warmth of a woman.” He says with a smile. “Or a man – or animal – whatever their tastes are in, Humans and Faunus all crave love and attention. Pleasure, sex, drink, food, combat. Whatever it is that they enjoy, most of the time it includes a partner along for the ride.” Vir Nominis Umbra explains, listing all these things, but Oscar catches onto something that he said.

“You talk of people as Humans and Faunus, like you are neither. So what are you?” He asks.

“You may call me a mere travelling merchant, I grant people the things that they want.” He explains with a smile on his face. He never seems to frown, and maybe that is something that Oscar might wish to keep that way.

“Why’d you bring all that up?” Oscar asks curiously. Vir Nominis Umbra smiles as he approaches the boy, hands held together now.

“I know your heart is set on someone – wouldn’t you wish to give her the night of her life?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks with a smile, a question that creeps Oscar out and he looks away.

“Stop.” He requests.

“Think about it, you want her...always have...you are in the perfect position to practice your craft!” He laughs as he stands there, and then something ignites in Oscar and he shouts at the Soothsayer.

“I said stop!” He shouts, causing some civilians to look at the commotion. Vir Nominis Umbra looks at them and he smiles, easing them with the simple lifting of his hand so then they leave.

“It’s okay, just pulling your leg.” He assures with a smile. Oscar sighs, calming himself down and he looks away from the Soothsayer, getting that weird feeling that someone’s eyes are set upon you. He turns and he sees a girl stood there, same age as he is, extremely pretty, looking right at him. But she too seems quite timid as well, wearing a red dress that is loosely tied up. He looks away and looks at Vir Nominis Umbra.

“I told you – No.” He says coldly, remembering what he said about granting people their wishes.

“I did not summon her, she came seeking _you_.” He says, still has not broken his expression.

“Why have you come here?” Oscar questions.

“I can sense when someone requires Guidance, I am here to – how should I put it – to aid you along the path.” Vir Nominis Umbra explains, finding the words in the sky as he enunciates. Oscar narrows his hazel coloured eyes, not buying what he says, but he was mumbling on how to get aboard the Dauntless. “You required assistance, I am here to provide it.”

“So how do you propose I stow myself away on that ship? They’ll be guards all over the place.” Oscar explains, waving his hands around the area, imagining in his head a street packed with Arkhoni Guards, whatever it is that they look like. Oscar watches the Soothsayer’s eyes as they dance over to the girl stood not far from him, and then at Oscar again.

“I believe your date might be the answer to your question.” Vir Nominis Umbra hints with a wink. Oscar groans, not getting that he is being literal about this.

“I said I am not interested.” Oscar groans.

“And I never told you to plough her, but I am not about to make things easy for you. If you wish to get about that Ship to help your true love, then you must speak with her.” Vir Nominis Umbra explains. Oscar sighs, grabbing the bridge of his nose, looking down and shaking his head.

“Why is everything so complicated?” Oscar questions.

“Welcome to the real world, Oscar Pine.” Vir Nominis Umbra says, smiling and walking away from him. When Oscar looks back up, he is rattled when he sees that the Soothsayer has completely vanished without a trace. He turns to a tree and sees a Hummingbird watching him from where it sits. It has glowing green eyes as it stands there, keeping a good eye on him. He sighs, and then looks at the girl where she stands and he walks towards her. His heart is pounding from nervousness. Her dress is tied up but reveals her collarbone quite clearly. She has fair Caucasian skin, long red hair, but before he can see her eyes, a trio of men stand in front of her with angry eyes. She gasps and steps back.

“Oi!” One of the brutish thugs shouts at her. Oscar stops and his eyes widen when he sees what is going on. “I want my bloody money back!” He grunts. She looks at him and starts to step back from him.

“You got what you paid for.” She says to him.

“Hell no, I did.” He snarls, grabbing her by her hair, lifting her off the floor and she starts to scream in pain, grabbing the muscular man’s arm.

“Get off me!” She squeaks.

“I think we should teach her a lesson.” One of the men grunts.

“I gave you the weapons you asked for! What more do you want?” She questions. Oscar was thinking of something very different with all the talk around town right now. The guy hurting her glares at her, scars across his back as he stares into her eyes.

“They broke immediately!” The thug grunts with anger. He then reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a large steel gutting knife and she starts to scream in terror. Oscar stands there and he scowls with anger. He clenches his hand into a fist.

“Hey!” Oscar shouts. The three men stop and they turn round and glare at him where he stands, dwarfing the boy and they laugh at him when they see him. The ringleader still holds the girl by her long red hair with a chuckle in his voice. Now Oscar can see her eyes, she has...silver eyes. His eyes widen but he ignores that fact for now, and keeps his eyes on the three criminals in front of him that are laughing at his age and size.

“Look at this brat! Looks like we need to teach him a lesson as well.” He snarls as he walks towards him.

“Put her down!” Oscar warns. The ringleader scoffs, looking at her and then at the boy.

“Put her down?” He asks. “Alright.” He agrees, he throws her and she falls into a pile of mud, the mud covers her face and her hair. She lands hard and she cries out as she is covered, her dress ruined. She looks up at Oscar where he stands, shocked at what the bully did, but that has settled it with him. He tightens his fist, he has always hated bullies, but especially hated those that go out of their way to hurt girls. That is why he despises Tyrian Callows so much. “Did as you asked.” He says.

“You’re gonna regret that.” Oscar assures.

“Am I?” He laughs. “What are you gonna do?” He asks.

“This.” Oscar snarls, he snaps his fingers, taking a page from Time’s book, and he sprints towards the thug as time freezes, the landscape seeming to fracture from every step he takes in the stutter. He gets closer and closer, and then he jumps high in the air, using a crate to get level with the head of the tall man. He swings round and slams his fist right into the back of his head. The action of doing so resumes time with a bang. The thug falls hard into the ground, his head buried in the wet mud after a recent rainfall. The black tar like mud covers his shaven head. The two other men stagger back with shock and disbelief. One of them takes out a baseball bat and the other holds a Knife. Oscar throws a time bubble at the man with the Knife to stop him in his tracks. He is frozen in the bubble, his yells being stretched out in the bubble. The fragments surround and hold him in position, and he is unknowingly stuck in the bubble right now. The other guy roars, swinging the baseball bat at his head. Oscar raises his arm and just as the bat hits his arm, instead of breaking the bone, a blast of fragmented glass like shards of aura, form around his forearm, stopping the bat from touching him. He holds it there and then he grabs the bat and rips it from the confused man’s fingers. He holds it with both hands and clatters it across the man’s jaw, salvia bursts from his mouth and he falls into the mud as well. Oscar swiftly turns to the last man, and with both hands, he over-arm throws the baseball bat into the bubble. It is stuck in time before him, about to hit him in the sternum. The bubble bursts and the momentum has been increased from being stopped in a single moment, and the impact sends him flying through a stack of vegetables. Cabbages and leaks are thrown into the floor and he tumbles down the stairs, severely winded from the impact, crying with pain.

Oscar hear pathetic groans at his feet and he looks down, seeing the Ringleader with an almighty bruise on the side of his head. He rolls his eyes and kicks the guy in the head, knocking him out cold from the impact. “Assholes.” Oscar says, walking away from them and towards the girl that was being bullied by them. He puts his arms around her to help her up to her feet. “Are you okay?” Oscar asks her. She nods her head, wiping the dirt off her face as she looks around.

“Yes, I’m sorry for getting you involved.” She apologises, wiping the dirt off her face. The pretty girl is struggling to get the mud off and she looks at her dress. She sighs with annoyance. “Well that’s a shame, I liked this dress.” She sighs, wiping some of the black mud off. Oscar looks around the area.

“Where’d you live? Let me help you get home.” Oscar says. She looks at him and smiles, nodding.

 

Some time passes and the door to her home opens and he helps her inside, closing it behind them. She walks away from him and she looks at herself in the mirror. “For gods’ sake.” She groans, picking up a flannel and cleaning herself up, wiping bits of mud off her face. “This is gonna take forever.” She sighs. Oscar has always been a kind soul, much like Ruby, he has always been one to offer help to those in need. He walks over to her and sits her down.

“I’ll do it, don’t worry.” He assures, taking the sponge and wiping the mud off her face. She smiles as he holds her head still.

“My knight in shining armour.” She laughs.

“Just a friend in the neighbourhood.” He says to her. She then remembers how he managed to take out those thugs so fast. She looks up at him with her large silver eyes, filled with ardent curiosity to ask him.

“How did you do that?” She asks him.

“Hm?” He responds, looking up to her face.

“You stopped those men, how did you do it so fast?” She inquires, tilting her head. Her voice is very soft and regal, like she belongs in a much higher place than a small house such as this. Oscar looks around, impressive weapons are displayed everywhere, from swords to maces and even to suits of armour on mannequins. If this is her work, then it is unbelievably impressive. But she still asked him a question, and he owes her an answer before she starts to get a little antsy towards him.

“It’s my semblance...I can control time.” He answers with a smile. She looks at him, raising an eyebrow curiously at the answer.

“A what?” She asks.

“A semblance.” He recites.

“I don’t know what that is...do you mean a Shai-Ty’uum?” She asks him, stating a phrase of which he has never heard before. His eyes widen, another cultural difference that he does not recognise. She tilts her heart shaped head at him curiously.

“A Shai-Ty’uum?” He asks.

“Yes, the manifestation of an ability that warriors have.” She answers. It is the same thing as a Semblance, but their language has a different name than what it has now. It has been simplified down greatly since the old days of the Arkhoni.

“Oh, yeah the same sort of thing. In the Trebuxian Farmlands we have a simpler name.” He admits with a smile on his face to calm her. She notices his smile, and he has probably accidentally caused this pretty girl to become smitten towards him.

“I’ve never met a boy from Trebux.” She admits, touching his hand with hers. He feels her hand, and his eyes widen when he feels the smoothness of her palms. Her skin is so well looked after, cleaned and tended to. She runs her fingers across his arm, feeling the muscle definition that has been formed from his work on the farm. She then looks him in the eyes with those mysteriously powerful silver ones. “Are you a Vanguard?” She asks him curiously, tilting her head into the hand that holds the sponge that he wipes the mud from her cheek. He tries to ignore the shyness that is building up in him, this is the closest he has actually been to a girl in this way in his entire life. He does not know exactly what he is feeling right now.

“No...I’m not a Vanguard.” He answers with a stammer in his voice. She smiles after hearing his stutter. She wraps her hand around his and she still looks at him.

“I owe you, Mr...” She asks, still not knowing his name.

“Oscar...Oscar Pine.” He answers, she seems to even like his name itself. She tilts her head when looking at him.

“Well...Oscar Pine...you saved my life today...I can repay you in any way you can imagine. But I must get changed first.” She says, standing up and walking away from him, towards the dresser in the corner, he watches her as she seductively looks back at him and in he can see her shadow as she removes the dress. He still feels the urge to look away for her own privacy.

When he looks forward, his heart nearly stops when seeing him stood there again. He has his hands clasped together and his wears still attached to his outfit of which he wears. He snaps his fingers together and then...time pauses in place. Oscar’s eyes widen and he cannot help but look back at her. He can see her shadow on the curtain, unclothed and walking around. He then looks at Vir Nominis Umbra again, confused of how he got in here. Now he is certain, this Soothsayer is not what he seems. He is like a spirit.

_Is it Time?_

“She has just offered to lay with you, Oscar.” He translates to the boy, which has now put him in an incredibly awkward position.

“Why are you putting me through all of this? Did you make that happen?” Oscar asks him, stuttering through every word of his sentence to the Clairvoyant. He smiles and walks towards him with a menacing chuckle behind his voice, approaching him. “How can you stop time? Are you Time? What the hell are you?” He questions.

“I am merely a travelling merchant and Soothsayer, nothing more.” Vir Nominis Umbra describes, looking down at Oscar.

“That’s a load of garbage, Umbra.” Oscar snarls with anger. “I have been here for essentially a day now...and not for one moment do I buy a word you have said so far.” Oscar explains with angry eyes. “You’re a liar, you told me she was different.”

“I am no liar, Oscar. I am no cheat, either. I simply said that she would aid you, her way of aiding you however may come at a cost. She has fallen for you, you are her knight in shining armour, the one she has been waiting for. She has been waiting for this day since she was born.” He explains as he walks towards him, and towards the curtain of which she is changing herself behind.

Oscar starts to stammer as he tries to find a way to speak. “Umbra...I am not ready for this kind of thing...I’m only sixteen.” He stammers.

“As is she.” He says, naturally.

“Surely this isn’t even legal!” He argues.

“Times were different here. Children began their careers when they were eight, but believe me, there are places in Vacuo in your time that are no different to Arkhonex. Arkhonex is a time of corruption that hid behind beauty. Prostitution, Fighting-Arenas, Gambling, you name it. It may all seem all perfect on the outside, but this place makes the conditions of your current world look a damn sight better in comparison.” He chuckles, and Oscar looks down at the floor with shaking hands. He is not ready for any of this, he has been scared to talk in a flirty way to Ruby, let alone sleep with a girl.

“So what? She is a prostitute?” Oscar questions with anger in his eyes, feeling betrayed by the Soothsayer.

“I never said that.” He says. Oscar starts to build up and up with fear of what is happening. His anxiety getting the better of him.

“I can’t, Umbra! I just can’t!” He argues. Vir Nominis Umbra walks around the room and then he stops by the suits of armour.

“Did you know that she made these suits?” He asks, touching one of them. Not a speck of dust upon them. Oscar looks at the armours and weapons that she has been selling. It makes sense now, about why those men started to shout at her. But they are in such good condition, why would those men threaten to hurt her for one being faulty?

“Why did those men attack her, then?” He asks.

“Because of me.” He admits with a smile, and Oscar grits his teeth.

“You got her hurt?” He snarls. Vir Nominis Umbra laughs, sinisterly at that as well.

“You see, Oscar...I fractured one of those swords that she sold and told her that she would be having a customer soon. That customer being you, and on cue, the men attacked and you came to the rescue and decided to clean her up. To her, you are the hero she has been waiting her whole life for, as I said previously.” He explains. He then reaches into his coat and pulls out a small book with a red spine to it with velvet wrapped around it. He opens it and flicks through the pages, humming a creepy song to himself. One that someone would understand.

_There was a crooked man...and he walked a crooked mile..._

“Ah! Here we are... _I am so sick of this place...I heard that the Trebuxian Farmlands are so beautiful out there. None of these animalistic men looking to sleep with every woman that they can lay they paws on...if only I could meet a guy the same age as me...one that I could love. Not like that old prick I was married to...not out of choice. Some brave warrior, a hero who would free me from this place._ ” He reads out to him, smiling away and closing the book shut with force, putting it down on the table. Oscar stands up and looks at the book, it was her diary. He then sees her name, and his eyes widen with disbelief.

Her name...

_Cynthia Nikos._

“Nikos?” He questions out of horror, his eyes widening. He know that surname because of how many times that they have mentioned the name of Pyrrha Nikos. This is the same Cynthia Nikos that Kragen Nox spoke of to the rest of the team when they first met him. However he does not know this yet.

“Indeed, the very same family tree that leads to the beautiful Pyrrha Nikos.” He explains with a grin.

“I can’t!” He argues. “I won’t betray Ruby.” He tells him, loyal to her to the end. The Soothsayer sighs, grabbing the bridge of his brow and he begins to pace around the room and then he speaks of something. Something that reveals the truth to the boy.

“I shall tell you a tale.” He begins, pacing back and forth in the room, hands still together as he walks with a smile. “Once, during the Arkhoni Ages, there was a beautiful Fair Maiden named Cynthia Nikos.” He begins and Oscar stares at him as he walks around. “She had been waiting for her true love for years on end since she has been a child. A Knight in shining armour, one that could rescue her from her perilous foes.” He continues on. “One night, with the moon looking over her, a young boy, the same age as her, would appear before her. Saving her from her foes, fast as light, and handsome as day.” He continues, approaching Oscar, and the boy begins to feel intimidated by the _Humble Merchant_  as he pins him against the wall without even laying a finger on him. Just by walking closer. Oscar stands against the wall, looking at the chilling man with his scared eyes. There is a faint glow of deep red behind his eyes but they fade quite fast. “He would look after her, tend her wounds, clean her up. She would become smitten to his hazel coloured eyes, wanting everything he could possibly give to her. And he did, loved her, held her, kissed her, felt the warmth of her body beside his for the entire night. And thus they spent a week together...” He explains.

“They then boarded a vessel, her promise to him that she would aid him in his task, heading to an unknown land to help someone else he knows.” He explains. Oscar now understands what the Soothsayer is saying to him. He must give her the night she has been wanting, the week she has craved, and in return she will aid him.

Or is this is twisted way to corrupt Oscar?

The man is so mysterious that he cannot guess his motives. He is using an innocent girl with such beauty against him just to make the tale become true. “Then what will happen to her?” Oscar questions, since he has not finished on that part. Vir Nominis Umbra smiles as he looks at him.

“Her beloved will be lost at sea, and she will find herself at the Trebuxian Farmlands with no hand to hold, no warm body to sleep with...but the very thing that she learned.” He stares straight at him. “She has gifts too...and there are others as well. She could go on to create a band of warriors, carrying silver eyes...known as the Silver Eyed Warriors.” He explains. “That is the tale, Oscar Pine. Would you risk destroying all of that? The possibility of your beloved never existing? Sometimes we must make decisions that we do not agree with for the greater good.” He explains with cold eyes.

Oscar...despite all of this...is still scared. It is not to do with that, it is to do with confidence. He is terrified of girls, he always has been scared of them. He has never known what it would be like to be with a girl in that way. “I – I get what you are saying – but – but – I can’t...” He stammers. Vir Nominis Umbra, however, is a persistent one.

“Lucky for you...I am a merchant.” He says, reaching into his bag. He pulls out a pair of potions. One blue, one red. He holds them before Oscar and he looks at him with them in his gloved palms. “Before you, you have a choice to make.” He begins. “Both potions will resume this point in time. You can take the red potion, and by taking it you will never remember the time you share with her, but your body will give her the dreams she has had for years. You will awaken at the end of the week, your naked bodies together on a bed.” He explains the red potion, and then he holds up the blue one. “Or you shall use the blue one, of which you will spike her wine with in the dinner she has planned for you and her. She will drink her wine, and will fall asleep before she would want to sleep with you. You will be able to meditate a week in advance and she will have the memories despite it never happening. You can rob her of her dreams, or you can risk betraying the girl you truly love by sleeping with her.” He explains.

He holds the two potions before him. “The Choice Is Yours.” Vir Nominis Umbra says.

Oscar looks at the two vials.

Red...

Or...

Blue...

Which should he pick?


	36. The Traveller's Journey - Pt. 3

**Oscar**

Red...

...Or Blue?

He looks at the two options before him, fluorescent substances of both colours inside of the vials. His hazel tinted oculus gazes at them both as he runs the options through his mind. He could give the Nikos girl what she wants, but it would mean betraying Ruby, his first love who is still alive. Or he could trick her with the blue potion, make her believe that it all happened, but it never did, and he stays loyal to her. But what could the consequences of such a betrayal mean? What if she finds out the truth?

Oscar looks at Vir Nominis Umbra with scared eyes; he has not changed his expression as he stares at the boy. His eyes are a threatening brown that make him extremely nervous from his true, hidden intentions. The smirk never changing on his face, the light reflecting off his bald head. These are some of the hardest choices he has ever made, for both could have extremely dire consequences on both sides of the coin that he has no idea of. But despite of these consequences, he finally makes a decision. He reaches his hand outwards and grasps onto the vial.

The glowing blue substance trapped in the glass flask hidden behind his hand. He holds it up and looks at the potion. Seeing his own reflection on the glass, seeing the shock in those large hazel coloured eyes, his voice stammering as he looks upon it. He then lowers the potion and looks directly at the being that stands there. His smirk extends and a chilling laugh emerges from Vir Nominis Umbra as he stares at the boy. “Cold...you choose to trick a girl into helping you? Letting her believe her dream has become a reality? I never expected such cruelty from someone like you, Oscar Pine.” Vir Nominis Umbra states with admiration in his voice. Oscar can see that he likes the cruelty in the choice, and it seems to reveal something in the Soothsayer. He is a man that enjoys seeing people crumble from cruel decisions. Oscar glares at him.

“The decision is decided, time has been fixed in place. Your decision is now – _history_.” He states with cold eyes, walking back from him.

Vir Nominis Umbra is an ally, but a cruel one.

He begins to step away, pulling the red vial away from the boy as he walks backwards from him. The only chance he had to use that other vial has just vanished.

The decision has been made.

Now he must do the duty of his choice to make it a reality. Vir Nominis Umbra walks back, and when Oscar blinks, he hears the sound of him snapping his fingers and when he opens his eyes. Vir Nominis Umbra has completely vanished from his view, making him stagger backwards with fear of what this thing is. He is – very clearly – not human. Or maybe he was, and has transcended into something more. Time is continuing and Cynthia is still getting dressed behind him, but he is frozen with fear.

There is something about Vir Nominis Umbra that he cannot shake.

He has experienced multiple emotions around him. Ones he has grown to know all too well. He has felt fear around him when he speaks, anger from the lies, and sorrow for the consequences of the choice he has made. He looks back at where she is and the tankards set down beside her bottle of wine she has prepared for him. He closes his eyes to prepare himself for what he must do. He walks towards the wine tankards and he listens to her humming to herself. He holds the vial close, hiding it from her when she comes out of the dressing room, looking undeniably beautiful. Hoping to woo him.

She wears a stunning black and red dress that connects together around her neck and above her breast, showing her collarbone. The dress also conceals her legs until she shows her leg sensually to him with a smile. She walks over to him and he acts the part to get her to sit down. “Shall we have dinner, my hero?” Cynthia asks him with a bright smile. She approaches the table and sits down, constantly looking at Oscar. He smiles and approaches the wine. He takes the wine and begins to pour it into the tankard; she looks away for a moment, playing with one of her black crystal-like earrings. In that moment, he looks at the vial and his eyes look at the glowing substance. He takes the cork and pops it off, and pours it into her wine, letting it mix into the wine. The blue essence fades into the red wine perfectly and cannot be seen at all as it swirls into the red. Like poisoning the wine of a lord, he does not feel comfortable with this at all. He then pours his own, he shall not drink it, because she will drink hers first before he does. He takes the two tankards and walks over to her and sets her tankard down to her. She smiles, picking it up and toasting him and he sits down, smiling back.

“What shall we toast?” Oscar asks curiously with a kind smile. She turns her head, wondering what her answer could be. A smile reappears on her face and then she answers, her silver coloured eyes gazing into his. She then smiles and answers his question.

“To you – my hero.” She says, she takes a drink and he copies her, drinking his. The taste of the wine to him is extremely repulsive, but she seems to like it. The fruity taste of the alcohol is hidden to the boy as the alcohol completely repulses him. But he hides it from her to keep her from worrying. She drinks more of it than he does and she sets her tankard down on the table, not even tasting the potion that has been put in her wine. Oscar swallows the wine, despite his body trying to spit the vile stuff out and she exhales.

Oscar looks at her and she begins to feel light-headed as she sits there, the potion is taking its affect. She starts to moan with exhaustion, hand on her head, and when she sits there, she stands up, looking around as she wonders about what is going on with her. She staggers around, her head dazed and becoming tired, her eyes getting weaker and weaker. Oscar reaches out for her and catches her before she falls and clatters her head on the ground. He still needs her help on getting aboard that vessel. He holds her there and she looks at him, trying to keep her eyes open as she looks at him. “I’m...very...tired.” She whispers.

“I’ll take you to bed.” He assures to her. Her eyes roll back into the back of her head and she rests her head onto his arm. She may not be dead, but it seems like she just did in his arms. Despite knowing she is asleep, guilt overcomes him. The guilt of manipulating this girl’s beliefs, her love...is not something he would ever want to do. But as he already wished for, he never would want to betray his true love. He picks the light girl up and carries her over to the bed and he lays her down in it, covering her body with the sheets, letting her sleep there. A week-long sleep. He takes a few steps back, looking down at her.

The potion worked.

_I’m no cheat, Oscar Pine..._

As he thinks of this, he turns and sees Vir Nominis Umbra stood outside with a smile on his face, walking away with his sinister grin, a black dust shard in the palm of his hand. His eyes glow red as he walks, the sclera turns black as well along with one terrifying laugh emerging. One so chilling that it goes straight through anyone that passes him.

Oscar walks outside and looks around for the Soothsayer. And just like before he has completely vanished once again. The cold air surrounds him and he senses that something is coming. His eyes move up to the full moon in the sky, and for a brief second, he sees it completely shattered. Arkhonex encased in ice, and stood before him in this place in that swift moment, is the Soothsayer, smiling as he stares at him. He says nothing, just stands in the frozen environment with his hands held together.

Then the surroundings return to normal. The ice is gone and time is not frozen in place, it is all normal. He sighs, closing his eyes as he thinks. He kneels down on his feet and he waits. He is learning more and more on how to use his powers. As he closes his eyes, the moon speeds up, darting across the sky. The stars zooming across and then the sun rises up, people dashing past up, not even noticing his presence as they walk. The sun then falls behind the horizon, the people enter their homes and the moon rises back up. This repeats around seven times as he waits the entire week, using his semblance to do so. He feels his hands twitch as he stays there, the glass like fragments of time bouncing off his skin as he uses it. He cannot abuse his power, for his body seems to become more and more unstable as he does it. Like a glass mirror, that could shatter from the simplest impact.

He opens his eyes, a week later and he sees the sun is in the sky, and the Dauntless is in the docks. It worked, he is able to wait through time just by closing his eyes and letting time pass by like the wind itself. It was much easier than he expected, which also scares him. His semblance is so powerful that it scares him, who knows what he is capable of? He stands there, feeling the warm air of Arkhonex on his skin as he stands here, looking at the people who pass him. Every time he looks at them all, it hits him every single time. They are all dead; perhaps most of these people have been buried in unmarked graves. That is if they have even been buried, nobody has found Arkhonex. Kragen has reason to believe that it is near the charred edges of the world, where Salem’s Sanctum is...and if he is right, then that must mean that Grimm patrol those lands like guardians.

Oscar shakes the thought off from his mind, and he turns to where Cynthia should be waking up if the Potion did the trick. To make a girl believe that he helped her experience what she has always dreamed of – to rob her of that excitement and then ask her for help is a cruel thing to do. But if it saves Ruby? Then he will do anything in his power for her, even sacrificing someone’s happiness in the process. He walks towards it and he opens the door, turning to see her sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looks at him with a smile, still wearing the dress and looking upon him. “You got me dressed...you really are a gentleman.” She coos with a smile.

The Potion worked...she really believes it all happened.

Vir Nominis Umbra is one cruel Soothsayer to sacrifice all that from her. Oscar needs to play the part to make her believe it, however. So he acts as if he is her partner, smiling as he walks over to the bed and sitting beside her. “Anything for you.” He assures, and she touches his hand with a smile.

“Thank you...for everything.” She thanks kindly. He smiles and she kisses him, something he expected her to do. So he is not overly surprised, but she seems to notice that he does not kiss her back. She looks at him curiously, and it opens up an opportunity for him to ask her for assistance on getting aboard that Vessel. “What’s wrong? Is something on your mind?” She asks him inquisitively. He sighs, pushing his hand through his hair as he sits there. He then looks at her and she looks into his hazel eyes.

“I need your help with something.” He admits and she does not let go of his hand.

“I will do anything.” She admits, it pains him to see her so smitten towards him, so devoted. And yet he only sees her as a tool to get him onboard that ship. All he needs to find is the map of the way to that Island Chain, that’s all he needs. But it pains him to ask her for this when he never granted her wishes. No doubt, Vir Nominis Umbra is probably listening in on everything that he says right now. Oscar has become pretty used to that already, whoever he truly is.

“There is a ship docked right now, called the Dauntless. I need to get aboard it, stow myself away in the lower deck with the cargo. If you can get me aboard, I will grant anything you want for you.” Oscar bribes with a smile, and an offer that Cynthia cannot seem to deny. She smiles and she looks through the closed blinds at the huge Vessel, the sails extending outwards as it prepares to depart.

She looks into his eyes, and despite wanting to be with him forever, she knows he means to go alone. “Where will you go?” She asks him. She puts Oscar on the spot, but he comes up with an answer that will encourage her further.

“I’ve got this job back at the Trebuxian Farmlands, it pays well...really well – enough for me to own a patch of land of my own. When I get it, you can come with me.” He offers to her, and she gasps with a smile. She wraps her arms around him, desperate to leave this godforsaken place once and for all.

“I will! I want to be with you till I grow old!” She squeaks. He closes his eyes with grief, feeling worse with every lie that he tells her to get her to help him. “What do you need me to do?” She asks him.

“I need you to keep the place cleared so then I can sneak into the Cargo Hold of the ship.” He explains. She smiles and looks around.

“I can handle that.” She assures. They both hear the sound of the Dock’s Bells resounding from the ships as they prepare to disembark.

“We have to go now.” He says to her and she nods, getting out of her bed and she follows him outside. They both walk towards the docks where the large vessel is. The Captain of the ship has one impressive ship at his disposal, armed to the teeth and armoured to all hell as well. A ship that is not to be trifled with on those seas. They both walk towards it and he sees the area of which the crew are loading supplies in. From food crates to wine crates and boxes of ammunition for the weapons that they are carrying. But when they are walking towards it, Oscar holds out his arm to stop her, their eyes widen and they gasp with amazement at the machine that walks past them.

It stands nearly ten metres high, made out of metal all the way through. Steel grey and with glowing orange optics that glow down at them. It does not seem aggressive, but it is dangerous if challenged. It has four huge sharp legs that stab down into the mud as it walks, creating thunderous horn blares at it moves around. It has Dust Laser cannons fused to the chassis of its body and shielding as well. It is a weapon that he has never seen before, making the Atlesian Knight look like chump change in comparison. It then moves on, stomping down with mechanical thrums as moves the limbs it is attached to. The torso is comprised of a large triangular shaped body. It approaches the docks, taking strides across each dock and then onto the Dauntless. As it stands there, the legs connect together and it lowers itself down into a deactivated position. Oscar stands there, amazed. “What was that thing?” Oscar asks out of amazement.

“That was a Warden, I’ve heard of them but never seen one. They accompany Vanguards sometimes on dangerous journeys...are you sure that’s the right ship?” She asks him with a nervous look.

“I’m sure, maybe they are going somewhere else at Trebux.” He suggests, and she sighs, nodding with agreement. They both approach the ship and he sees that there are still two crewmates loading things aboard the ship. She points to a crate and Oscar quickly darts behind it, taking cover. He can use his semblance but they could spot him when looking in there.

Cynthia looks at him and then at the men. She screams and then falls onto the muddy floor, her scream gets the men’s attention and they run over to her aid. She acts all distressed, and she eyes the opening for Oscar. He smiles and mouths the words _thank you_ to her. He stops time and sprints towards the opening as they pass him, and he jumps into the opening, looking at her when he continues time. “Are you okay, ma’am?” One of the men asks her as they help her up to her feet, wiping some of the mud off her dress.

“Thank you, I’m okay. Silly me, more clumsy than a drunkard.” She giggles. She looks at Oscar and smiles.

He smiles back and he hides back behind the crates as they continue to load things away on the ship. He hides there as he waits, unable to get her face out of his mind. How she really thought that that was why he wanted to get aboard. It worked, yes...but not without the potential consequence of ruining that girl’s life. The men load and load things away, and he decides to pass the time again. He closes his eyes and he waits a little bit of time. He waits around five hours which passes in literally a second. He is still getting used to the time of which it takes to use those powers correctly. He looks around and he feels the weight of the ship bouncing around as it moves.

They are at sea.

He is far away from her now, she has no idea of where he is actually going. And that hopefully once he knows where to go, he will be able to return back to his own time. He peers around the dark cellars of the ship, hearing the clinks of men’s tankards above as they sing songs. He walks around the lower deck, nobody is down here. He needs to find the map...the map in the captain’s cabin.

The sound of a slow clap appears behind him, making Oscar jump and he turns to see the man reappearing once again to converse with him. He smiles as he emerges from the shadows, looking at him as he walks towards him. He claps one last time, three times overall, and he keeps his hands held together. “Impressive, Oscar...for a boy who seems to say that he would never want to lie to Ruby...you did a masterful job of lying to poor Cynthia back there.” He explains with a smirk on his face as he speaks. It continuously angers Oscar as he talks to him like that.

“Screw you, Umbra.” Oscar snarls, sitting down on a crate, looking away from the Soothsayer. Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles as he walks around the area where he hides beneath the other men, the sun still up.

“It’s the truth...the way you handled it...I could have not offered you those potions and you could have lied to Ruby and she would have never guessed it. Come to think of it...maybe I should have given you a potion that made you be more confident with your skills in the bedroom. I’m sure Ruby would appreciate it.” Vir Nominis Umbra eggs on with a sinister smile, which disgusts Oscar even more to the point of retaliation.

“What is with you? Always trying to make me sleep with Cynthia and now you’re saying the same things about Ruby? Talking about lying to her?” He lists with horror as he stammers, he then glares at the Soothsayer as he stands there. “I don’t care who you claim you are, Umbra...there is more to you...what are you?” Oscar questions. The Clairvoyant remains silent for a couple seconds, looking down at the little Huntsman.

“Do you really wish to know?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks him curiously.

“Yes.” Oscar answers honestly, and then the Soothsayer responds, just as honestly.

“I am what I have told you...I reflect on everyone’s wants and wishes. I just show them in a – how should I put it? A different light.” He explains with that smile never leaving his face. Oscar tilts his head with confusion, trying to place what he means.

“What the hell does that mean?” Oscar inquires.

“You love Ruby...Love is beautiful thing. By definition it is the affection one has to both the physical beauty of someone and that of their personality. A longing to be with them, to support them, to never leave their side. Partnership...In my eyes, I show it in the opposite end of the spectrum...do you know what I am getting at?” He asks.

“Lust.” Oscar answers.

Vir Nominis Umbra snaps his fingers with a laugh, but time does not seem to pause when he does it. “Exactly. I show the darker side of love, the wanting for sex, pleasure, gazing at one’s body. And I must admit, few actually stay strong against the things I offer them with my gifts, many give in to lust for perhaps an hour or more of pleasure. But you did not give in, you stayed loyal. That is admirable.” He admits, nodding his head up and down.

“And for those who have lust in their lives...”

“I show them love. I like to help individuals experience as many variations of things as they can. As a merchant, it is my service to do so.” He explains.

“You’re clearly not human, so what are you exactly?” Oscar inquires.

“Well, until you buy me a drink I shan’t tell you all my secrets, Oscar Pine.” He explains. He then clasps his hands together as he walks around again, picking up a glass of wine and he looks at it. “However, I can tell that there was a part of you, that wanted to give it a try.” He admits with a smirk on his face.

“What? No – No I didn’t...” He stammers.

“Oscar, stop denying it, I’m a Soothsayer. I am able to read people’s minds as well as see their futures. I could sense your pheromones and they were just like hers, there was attraction to you both. She however did fall for you through lust, she found your body attractive and when you rescued her, she chose you as her partner for life. Wishing for you to plant your seed within her body for the future.” He explains with a smile, drinking the wine fresh from the bottle. He exhales with appreciation for the fermented drink. He sets the bottle down on the table as he looks at the boy.

Oscar looks down at the floor shyly. “Nothing to be ashamed of, dear boy, all men have experiences such as that in their lifetimes. Ruby cannot be mad at you for having those sexual desires around one beauty such as that.” He says, he then looks at him again after looking out one of the windows. “She is lucky to have you, though – despite her injury and everything she has done, you still remain loyal. You are definitely a keeper to her in my eyes when you return.” He explains, walking past her. He then looks at her with wide eyes, realising that he might have just hinted at something.

“Does she feel the same way?” he asks. He stands there and looks at him.

“Damn, kid...I thought the Arc Boy was blind, but you seem to be as blind as a mole.” He chuckles as he looks at him.

“Just answer the question.” He requests.

“I thought it was obvious that she does. You’ve both been through so much together...who else was she gonna start developing feelings for?” He scoffs. He walks around Oscar some more and he sets the bottle back down on the floor.

“I need to know how to get to those Islands, Umbra...how do I do it?” Oscar asks him. Umbra stops and he chuckles when he turns and looks at him with those mysterious eyes. He holds his hands out where he stands.

“I thought it was obvious.” He says with a smile, walking away from him. Oscar blinks...

...and he is gone.

Just like that. Oscar sighs, really beginning to dislike that guy. He keeps on appearing out of nowhere. But it makes sense that he was acting like that, showing people the opposite emotion of what they feel at the time. Showing Oscar Lust instead of Love, perhaps he does the same with other emotions. Sadness for Happiness and vice versa.

Oscar thinks and thinks...and then he comes up with an answer.

He can stop time, shimmy right past the crew without any of them noticing. He will have to hold the stutter as long as he can, however. He walks up the steps and he prepares to engage the ability, until he sees who is stood at the top of the stares, looking directly at him. His yellow eyes meeting his hazel coloured ones.

Rylen Vazquez.

He starts to walk down towards him and he closes the door behind him as he enters the cellars. He watches his every move, keeping both eyes on the boy as he stands there. He chuckles, his spear attached to his armour and the loops on the back, along with a crossbow. “Oscar Pine...guess I should’ve expected it. Once a Stowaway, always a Stowaway, right?” He asks as he walks around. He sits down on one of the benches, keeping his eyes on the boy, and Oscar still feels his hairs standing on end. Despite him not being the Knight of Fear right now, he still is afraid of the man, and who he will later become. “You want to go to the Volcanic Chain Isles, huh? Why?” Rylen asks him, and Oscar keeps his eyes on him, making sure that he does not try anything.

But he needs to answer, so he does so. “I’m looking for someone.” He answers, keeping it brief and ambiguous. Rylen leans back, eyebrows rising as he looks at him after his brief answer to his question.

“Someone, huh?” He asks him. “Someone close to you?” He asks, and Oscar just nods as his answer. Rylen nods his head as well, reaching into a crate and taking out a bottle of fresh mead. He takes a swig from the bottle, having no reaction to the stuff, clearly his type of drink. Perhaps a connoisseur of the brand of drink, respiring after his swig, offering it to him, but he declines. “Yeah, I know what that’s like. My daughter was stolen from me a couple years ago, I got her back and all...but she was five when I got her back.” He explains, and Oscar begins to see a more humane side to the Knight of Fear that he never expected. He had a daughter once.

“What happened?” He asks him, and Rylen looks over at him.

“Her mother died in childbirth, so I have been looking after the infant ever since. Until one night, I lost sight of her, she was right there in her bed...and the next second, she wasn’t.” He explains, and a part of Oscar feels nervous from how he is describing it. “I felt so much anger and fear at the same time, took me five years to find her kidnappers. Turned out it was a bunch of Fanatics of the Congregation of Dawn, had technology that made them invisible. They were gonna raise her and slaughter her like a pig for their sick ideals.” He snarls with anger at the very thought of the subject, his hand clenches into a fist with anger when thinking about it.

“What did you do to them?” Oscar asks him. Rylen looks at him, right into his eyes before he answers.

“I killed every last one of them.” He answers. “My baby girl doesn’t know about it, she is twelve now and she doesn’t know. I’d like to keep it that way, she was afraid of me for years because she didn’t know me for that long...we’re getting better now...I just hope she can recover.” He sighs after explaining what happened with his daughter. The Congregation of Dawn, they have been mentioned in the past. A rogue fanatical group of religious nuts that started slaughtering innocents for their god. They worshiped the Grimm, fed people to them of any ages. Horrible to think that they could have done that to his daughter.

“So why do you do performance arts in the meantime?” Oscar asks him.

“People need to be entertained, I have always been able to get into character easily. And I can play monsters pretty well, if I can scare my audience then I am doing the right thing.” He explains with a smile. The more he explains, the more Oscar sees the irony.

He played as monsters in plays, and now he has become a monster. The irony in such a fate is almost...poetic. And cruel at the exact same time. Oscar continues to look at him the same way, tense and ready to defend himself if he must. Despite that Rylen does not intend on doing anything of the sort to him. Rylen notices the look that Oscar is giving him and he cannot help but comment on it. “Ooh...the way you look at me...what is that? I’m struggling to find a better word than...fear.” He explains, and the further irony from his statement there nearly makes Oscar explode. Without even realising, Rylen just named his future alias from what will happen to him.

Oscar finds the response to not sound insane to him, but he still needs to give him some kind of warning. “Be careful who you deal with, Rylen.” He says, walking away from him. He stops time and leaves, but when Rylen looks for Oscar, he has completely vanished, leaving Rylen alone in the cellars, with that message, that warning, left in his mind.

That was a dangerous gamble that he just played with that, for Time warned him about Paradoxes.

Hopefully he did not just create one.

Oscar walks in the stutter, past the frozen individuals on the deck of the ship that sails across the seas. He walks up the wooden steps, and many of them have flagons of mead in their grasp with alcohol spilling from the brim as they sing. They voices are stretched out through the paused moment in time as he walks past them. He looks around, the huge Warden is still deactivated, remaining in its station. He then looks at the head of the ship and there stands the Captain. Captain Wymerus, with his Mace in his grasp and beside him is Krekras Blackridge with his sword sheathed as well. Starla is perched up on the ratlines with her bow in one hand, her long white hair blows majestically in the ocean wind. She looks beautiful there where she hangs. He continues to look around, and there is a Silver Eyed Warrior here as well. He is a young man here, but what he does not realise is that this individual...

Is Kragen Nox.

When he was much younger, and he was a charming looking young man back then, his staff in his hand as he speaks with the other crewmates. Perhaps they need him to get through that Storm Barrier that they face right now, he was younger back then. And now they need Ruby for the same purpose to open the storms. For she is the strongest Silver Eyed Warrior to be born in thousands of years.

Oscar looks directly ahead and he sees the Captain’s Cabin ahead and he pushes the doors open, walking inside, looking down at the table in the centre of the room. He ignores everything else inside and he looks directly at the map. It shows the area of which that they are at and where they were. A model of the ship on the ocean is currently between where Vale is and where Mistral is. The Volcanic Chain Islands and located on the very far right side of the map, circled in red pen. His eyes widen when he sees it, they can easily get there. He gasps with amazement.

Suddenly a cold metal hand grabs his wrist and pulls it away from the map. Oscar looks up and he is more shocked to not see Vir Nominis Umbra. The person is Time, his body made of Cogs stares directly at him, the cold cogs seeming to burn into his skin from how tight he holds him. His distorted voice appears as well. “Time is up, Oscar.” Time coldly growls, the land around him cracks and erodes, and Oscar quickly takes one last glance at the map, keeping that in his mind, the paint of the world around him peels and cracks away until the bright white light consumes them both and pulls them away from this time era.

 

As if he woke up from a dream...

He gasps, seeing Blake and Sun in front of him again, nearly forgetting that he was speaking to them in the first place earlier. Blake jumps from is sudden gasp, as for her he was there the whole time, Sun looks at him curiously at what just happened. “Oscar?” Blake questions. He then grabs her by her shoulders with wide eyes.

“I know where to find Ruby!”

 

**Yang**

Yang and Kassius ride across the roads of Mistral, past the huge trees that stand around them. They both cheer with excitement as they enjoy their ride together. Unaware of all the chaotic moments that have happened since Kragen and the others left to go to the Library. Oscar being taken by Time and learning of her sister’s location. So much has happened that they have missed.

They continue to drive and drive.

Until suddenly, a man jumps down from the trees in front of Yang and Kassius. He slams his metal hook hand into the wheel of Bumblebee and rips it from Yang’s grasp, sending her flying off the seat and crashing into the road. The man also spins round and roundhouse kicks Kassius in the head, knocking him off the bike as well. He grunts as he bike scrapes across the road. The man throws Bumblebee with his cybernetic hook hand and it crashes into a tree, chips of yellow and gold paint coming off, sparks erupting out from the impact.

Yang presses her hand to her head and she looks at her attacker, her eyes widening when she recognises him.

The captain that attacked them before, the one that Jaune cut the arm off. He rises up, yellow paint on his hook hand as he glares at her, a helmet covering his face but it peels back, made up of thousands of intricate pieces of metal and a pair of red visors for his eyes to look through and a respirator to breathe through as well. He stares at them, his brown hair slicked back and scars on his face. He winks at Yang with that smile on his face. “Hello, there, Blondie.” He greets. He steps aside from the bike and he looks at Kassius as he stands back up with Lash Equinox at the ready. Yang pumps Ember Celica to fight and then she hears movement behind her, and she looks over her shoulder.

The Onyx Phantom is stood behind her, two swords out, one with the blade pointed backwards and the other pointed towards her. She walks slowly, keeping her orange eyes on Yang with little emotion shown on her face. She then looks at the Spectre again as he smirks.

“Remember Me?” He asks her.


	37. The Spectre and the Phantom

**Yang**

Yang pushes her hands against the floor when she stands back up, keeping her lilac eyes on the Spectre as he stands before her. He is much taller than she is, and wears an Exo-Suit that makes the one that Kassius wears look pathetic in comparison. Comprised of thousands of intricate pieces of titanium armour and dust charges through the armour itself. His armour seems very similar to that of the Onyx Phantom’s as well, with a fabric like metal alloy in the shape of a trench coat is built into his armour. The helmet plates have folded and shifted away into the metal collar around his neck. His metal hook hand is outwards and in the other hand is a Chrome Revolver, loaded with different dust rounds. Kassius stands there and he keeps his swords at the ready when he watches the Spectre. “You were there at the town we saved...” He realises with wide eyes, recognising his face. “That captain...”

“Good eyes, Kassius. Good to see that those scars didn’t screw up your vision.” He scoffs, looking at Kassius. Kassius scowls when he glares at the man, and he paces back and forth before them. He lifts up the hook hand when glaring at Yang, the light in the sky reflects off the shiny weapon, some scratches on the metal from where he slammed the hook into the wheel of her bike. “You like this? Your buddy, Jaune Arc, gave me it...I’m looking for some payback.” The Spectre growls.

“You won’t lay a finger on Jaune.” Kassius promises.

“You can’t stop me...because you won’t be leaving this road alive.” He assures. Yang smirks and laughs a little at him.

“You scratched Bumblebee’s paint...you shouldn’t have done that.” Yang says, cheekily tilting her head as she says it, pointing at him with his metal arm. The Spectre looks back over his shoulder at the trashed bike and then at her.

“You named your Bike? How cute...and wasteful.” He snarls, pulling the hammer of his revolver back and loading a round into the chamber. “Just like that pretty face of yours.” He states, pointing the barrel of the revolver directly at her. Kassius springs to action and he slashes Lash Equinox directly at his arm, until he sees the hook connecting to the blade and pulling him with force, throwing him onto the floor. Kassius quickly kicks the Mercenary in the head and he grunts, staggering back from the impact, giving Yang the time to spin round and deliver a hard uppercut to the Onyx Phantom behind her. The hooded Mysterious Woman exclaims through her voice changer, sounding metallic from her grunt. Yang swings her cybernetic arm at the warrior again and then the Phantom holds her hand outwards, and her Telekinesis stops her arm in her tracks, bending parts of the metal at times. She then jumps in the air and kicks her in the chest, knocking Yang on the ground.

Kassius rolls aside as the Spectre slams his hook hand down into the ground with force, the curved blade stabs into the pavement with force, cracks spreading out from the impact. He growls with anger from the situation, ripping the hook from the floor and slashing straight at the Huntsman again, a red trail leaving the hook as he swings it hard and fast. He then points the revolver at Kassius and starts to fire it at him over and over again. Kassius skilfully spins his swords around like propellers at the bullets, deflecting them away from hitting them and then he fires Vulcan Nox at the Spectre, a round glances off his chest plate. The Spectre jumps in the air and raises the hook up and brings it down with force, the blade stabs straight through Kassius’ cybernetic shoulder. Kassius roars with pain from the injury, sparks leaking out from the stab wound and a couple of shards of metal have broken off too. He pulls Kassius with the cybernetic arm and thwacks his head into a tree, hard as well. Bits of bark snap off and they fall onto the floor. The Spectre pulls his hook from the shoulder of the Huntsman and he points the barrel of his pistol at the back of his head. “End of the line, Huntsman.” He growls. Kassius grits his teeth with anger, a faint red glow behind his amber eyes. He grabs the Revolver that belongs to the Mercenary and he jumps in the air.

“Not today!” He yells, bringing his foot round and kicking the Warrior in the side of his head, nearly knocking him on his arse.

Yang rolls out of the way when the Onyx Phantom starts to attack with her duel swords, swinging them both extremely fast. She starts to think back on what her father taught her in combat. _Keep a level head! Remember your balance! Find a weak spot!_

She examines the swift body of the Phantom as she jumps around and swings at her. She notices that she is very elegant in how she fights, so she needs to be just as fast. Remembering on how Neo fought her, she was elegant and could deflect any blow. Yang needs to start fighting in a _defensive_ way, not _offensive_. She backs up, fists raised up and clenched. The Onyx Phantom jumps high and spins round with both blades held tight, and she scrapes them just where she was, across the floor. She is paused for a moment, and Yang takes her chance to kick the Phantom in the head. The Phantom staggers from her kick and then Yang starts to fight aggressively, punching her over and over again, firing Ember Celica with every punch to add extra damage to her attacks. The Onyx Phantom is suffering some brutal blows by the Xiao Long girl, but then she immediately snarls and Yang feels the telekinesis on her arm once more, and the Phantom throws her away from her.

Yang tumbles and she realises she has been thrown into the fight between Kassius and the Spectre. She rises up and punches him up the jaw with force, causing him to stumble away from the pair. She looks at Kassius and he looks at her. “Swap!” Yang says.

“Alright!” He agrees, turning to face the Onyx Phantom with his two swords ready, a much fairer fight. The Phantom’s orange eyes glare at him, and he feels a slight twitch of rage when he sees her. The same woman that killed his team, and even to this day, she remains silent. He tightens his grip on the sword and he yells, running at her with them, striking her crossed blades.

The Spectre takes a punch to the chest and Yang stands tall, her long blonde hair bouncing as she moves. He rises back up and continues to smirk at her. He transforms his Hook Hand round and the cybernetic hand emerges, flexing each digit. He points his index finger at her as he stands there. “You have heart, Blondie...I’ll give you that much.” He admits as he paces back and forth, still holding that Revolver of his. Yang glares at the revolver, seeing that it is covered with tally marks of the targets that he has murdered for his contracts.

“Who the hell are you?” She snarls. He chuckles as he walks around and he holds the Revolver upwards and points at the tallies on it.

“I am everyone and no one...a Spectre is able to become anyone they wish.” He chuckles as he stands there. He then switches from a smirk to a gritted scowl, sharply pushing the gun forward at her head and pulling the trigger. Yang rolls out of the way and she runs at him, sliding past and punching him in the back of his leg. She runs up behind him when he falls down to his knee and she jumps up in the air, ready to pummel his head into the floor. Until the Spectre rises back up and he switches the cybernetic hand back into his hook hand, and he catches her by the throat with it, her aura protecting her skin from the serrated blade of his weapon. He has her in his grip and with all his might, he roars and throws her straight down into the ground, crashing her into a crater, that she groans in pain inside of. She looks at her aura count and it has just dropped down by about twenty percent from that attack. If not for aura, she would be dead because that hook would have beheaded her. He points his Revolver at her head to shoot her but Yang smirks as she realises he has let his guard down, yet again. She swipes her foot across his feet and he yelps, firing the gun in the air and she stands back up and punches him across the face as he falls. He slams against the floor with enraged eyes. He clenches his hand into a fist and slashes the hook at her again.

Kassius and the Onyx Phantom have engaged in an intense swordfight, the four blades clanging against one another as they fight. Sparks erupting from every impact. They both slam the blades into each other, pushing up against one another, staring into each other’s eyes and the Phantom remains quiet, whereas Kassius is feeling Hyde starting to get more and more desperate to take over his mind right now. “You killed my team.” He growls with anger. He pushes down with his cybernetic arm and grabs her by the throat and pins her against the wall. Kassius’ eyes widen when he notices that the ground is starting to shake and pieces of metal rise up from the ground and are thrown straight into his body, one lump of soil crashes right into his body and throws him onto the ground with a heavy thud. He rolls across the floor and sighs with annoyance. “I hate this chick.” He sighs. He lies there, and then hears the voice of Mr Hyde inside his head.

“Come on...let me have a crack at her.” He begs, sounding really excited.

“No, I can handle this.” He assures.

“Come on, please?” He begs. Kassius sits there and sees her pulling her sword back into her hand with her telekinesis, walking towards him. Kassius sighs, rolling his eyes with defeat.

“Alright fine.” Kassius gives in.

Suddenly the amber eyes of Kassius instantly switch to the glowing red eyes of Hyde. The veins in his body ignite like that of a volcanic eruption of rage. The voice of Hyde comes out as well, instead of the natural voice the body has. He also smiles insanely as well, like he is about to party. “Finally, ha-ha!” Hyde whoops, leaping up to his feet, scooping the blades up and spinning round, hitting the Phantom in the chest so hard it sends her flying backwards. She crashes straight through a tree, causing it to collapse. He sprints straight at the Onyx Phantom and then he swings Lash Equinox directly at him. “Watch your head!” Hyde laughs as he swings the sword. The Phantom ducks under it, and with her own sword, she coats the blade in purple dust and launches it directly into his cybernetic arm. The blade cuts straight through his aura in that one place and pins him into the tree. He grunts, pinned there and he groans. His eyes return to amber.

“Great idea, moron.” Kassius sighs, still pinned.

“Hey, I tried.” Hyde defends.

The Onyx Phantom then turns to see Yang as she fights the Spectre. Until suddenly, Yang takes a huge amount of damage from the Spectre as he points his revolver at her and rapid fires it, striking the hammer over and over again with his metal hand. The bullets do more serious damage to her aura and she staggers back. Her closes her eyes, now is the best time to take these guys out than any. She screams with fury, her eyes turn blood red and her blonde hair glows bright, a powerful explosion throws the Spectre and the Onyx Phantom onto the ground, nearly setting the forest on fire.

The Spectre coughs, scorch marks across his chest plate after that explosion he was caught in at the time. He looks at his hands, seeing there is some blood leaking from his hand and sparks leaking from the metal one. He looks through his hazy eyes and sees Yang walking towards him. “Oh crap...” He groans, turning and looking at his Revolver. He reaches out for it but Yang presses her boot down on his hand, stopping him right then and there. He looks up at the beautiful blonde where she stands. “Let’s talk about this, huh?” He suggests, holding his hand up. Yang raises an eyebrow and sarcastically replies.

“Let me think about that – oh yeah – no.” She coldly answers scowling down at him. The Spectre sighs, looking away.

“Eh, it was worth a shot.” He admits with a shrug.

“Shut it, asshole. Where is my sister?” She snaps and he looks at her with a scoff.

“Ruby? How would I know she’s your sister?” He questions, and that completely throws Yang off from how stupid that just was. He then realises what he just said. “Hang on.” He says and then he rolls his eyes with annoyance.

“Since you know her name then you know. Where is she?” She repeats, pointing both Ember Celica Gauntlets at his head.

“How would I know where she is? I’m just a Rent-A-Thug.” He defends again, despite actually knowing as well. And Yang is not stupid; she knows how much of a part he is in all of this if he is partnered up with the Onyx Phantom. She shakes her head out of disappointment.

“You’re really not good at lying are you?” She scoffs.

“On the spot? Not really.” He admits. “Give me some time, I’ll think about it.” He says. Yang scoffs.

“I don’t think so.” She says, arching her fist back to punch him in the head. The pitter-patter of footsteps gets closer and closer, and all of a sudden the Onyx Phantom throws herself at Yang, sending her flying off the Spectre and the Phantom rolls the rest of the impact off. Yang rolls across the floor, regaining her footing at the end. She looks behind the Phantom and sees Kassius trying to get her sword from his shoulder where he’s pinned. The Onyx Phantom sprints extremely fast at Yang again, and Yang holds her fists up in the boxing position, her eyes glowing red and she has activated her semblance to fight them. She slams her fist into the head of the Onyx Phantom so hard it sends the Phantom into the ground. The Onyx Phantom slides across the floor and then she growls with anger, pieces of metal on the ground bending from her telekinesis. She gets back up and challenges the blonde haired fighter again, swinging her sword at her fast and hard, whilst Yang deflects each attack with her hands and dodges them. She slaps the blade away from her face with her metal hand and then she punches the Assassin in the head with her human fist. The Phantom recoils backwards from the punch and then Yang karate kicks the warrior in the side, sending her flying back. Yang spins round and loads the rocket belt into her gauntlets and immediately starts to fire them at the Onyx Phantom, the rockets pursue her and she darts through the trees. The rockets explode as they hit either the trees or the ground behind the Onyx Phantom, igniting fires on the flammable grounds.

The Spectre rises back up, glaring at the girl and he folds out the metal hook again, holding a vial of that purple dust and he coats his hook with it, smirking as he goes after her. Kassius’ eyes widen when he sees him doing that and he forces his hands against the blade that has wedged into his arm.

Yang launches her last missile from her belt into the tree that the Onyx Phantom runs past. She stops and then points her own Revolver at Yang and opens fire, with a fast trigger finger as well. Each bang sends dust bullets towards her, and she dives behind a tree. She sees Kassius still struggling but then he unclips his ammo belt that uses the same dust missiles as hers. “Yang! Catch!” He yells, throwing it towards her. She catches it and loads her Gauntlets up and fires a couple more missiles that whistle as they fly towards the Onyx Phantom, exploding into the ground.

Suddenly the Spectre appears behind her, using invisibility on his armour, his attack revealed his position. Yang narrowly avoids the dust coated hook and she steps back from him and pushes his attacks away. She kicks into his stomach and swings round with her bodyweight put into the punch, right into his ear, launching him onto the ground, and she sprints towards Kassius to help him. She runs over and rips the sword from his shoulder. “Just repaired that as well!” He shouts with anger, looking at the hole in his cybernetic prosthetic. Kassius cracks his neck and they both look ahead at the two Assassins stood before them. The Hook Handed Man and the Sword Wielding Woman.

“Any ideas?” Yang asks him curiously.

“Other than beat them to a pulp? No not really.” He says with a jokey smile.

“You’re so hot when you’re sarcastic.” She giggles.

“You haven’t seen nothing yet.” He whispers with a grin on his face.

“You two lovebirds done flirting?” The Spectre asks them, scratching his brow with his hook.

“We could go on.” Yang assures.

“Yeah, believe me. We’re just getting started.” He also agrees, tilting his stetson to them both. Yang lifts her fist and he fist-bumps her.

“I’d rather not; I quite enjoyed the meal I had before this fight. Rather not throw it all up.” The Spectre admits, and the Phantom remains quiet.

“Well then, where were we?” Kassius asks. “Oh yeah, kicking your ass!” He remembers, snapping his fingers. The two Assassins charge towards them and they ready themselves. Yang raises her fists and Kassius spins Lash Equinox through his fingers. The Onyx Phantom jumps at Kassius with her sword and as she lowers down she picks up the one that Yang dropped and slashes it at him, but Kassius manages to deflect it, sparks erupting from the impact of the two blades. He then crosses them over and catches her blades and kicks her in the gut. The Spectre sprints towards her, vaulting over a boulder and kicking Yang in the head. He then rockets back up and swings his curved hook at her fast, just missing her as she hops back on her toes. Kassius swings his swords at the Onyx Phantom and accidentally cuts the body of a tree down, causing it to tumble down towards them both. They both back up and it lands between them. The Spectre kicks the tree with his powerful boot and the tree is shoved out of the where with ease. The Onyx Phantom leaps over and wraps her legs around the shoulders and neck of Kassius, forcing herself downwards and throwing him as she rolls across the soil.

Kassius tumbles across the ground and the Onyx Phantom rushes up to him, pinning him against a tree with her sword. He slams his head into her and they continue to battle. The Spectre slashes across Yang’s chest, cutting through her shirt and jacket, she staggers back and yelps in pain, seeing there is a small gut across her athletic body, bleeding slight. He then kicks her in the head, causing her to collapse to the ground.

“So disappointing.” The Spectre sighs as he walks towards her.

She presses her hands against the ground as she tries to get back up but then he coats his blade in a strange type of dust. It is deep purple...and the purple dust glows bright on his hook. He then stabs the hook into her shoulder, cutting through her aura. A bright yellow shimmer of aura forms around where the hook has pierced through and has kept her in her grasp. Purple Dust can puncture through aura...

Yang screams in real agony from that experience of her muscles being set on fire as the blade has cut in deep. She feels her body being lifted up by the man and she grabs onto his metal arm but she cannot pull herself off. Kassius smashes Lash Equinox across the blades of the Onyx Phantom, making her recoil slightly, and he looks back at his screaming beloved as the Spectre holds her up like that. “Yang!” He yells. Suddenly the blade of the Phantom erupts out of his shoulder and he roars with pain as blood spurts out, she throws him with force into a tree and he smacks his head against it. She stands there and snaps her fingers. He looks upwards with defeated eyes, seeing Acolytes of Lien Gunships emerging and soldiers jumping down from where they were stood. Their Exo-Suits softening their landing. Seekers dart across the area and they shoot at them both. Kassius presses his hand against his arm with pain, blood leaking out of it and then he sees the purple dust on her blades as well.

The soldiers aim at him and one of them kicks him onto the ground, taking out batons and beating Kassius with them over and over again. Yang reaches out for him. “No!” She screams and the Onyx Phantom steps away as the soldiers beat him down striking his head a couple times as well. The Spectre stares at her with a smirk on his face as he holds her up.

“You should have never gotten involved in businesses you don’t understand, Blondie.” The Spectre growls, turning round and smashing her face into a tree with force. She grunts with pain and ever hit is knocking her aura down and down and down. He is going to kill her, just like how Fear showed her mother earlier. He then smashes her head into the ground, time and time again, even after her aura has been completely diminished. He smashes her head into a rock and her nose breaks, blood spilling from her injury, her eye swollen up. She groans with pain and he rips his hook arm from her shoulder, glaring down at her as he walks around her. He chuckles as he stands there.

The Onyx Phantom points her handgun at the head of Kassius, his red aura wearing off as well. He keeps his eyes on her and he suddenly bursts into action, his eyes glowing red, his veins turning volcanic with rage. He picks up his swords and slashes them across the throats of the soldiers that were beating him down. Mr Hyde has just cracked, going on a blood rage that is targeted at the Onyx Phantom. He slashes the gun clean in half from the Phantom’s hand, her eyes widen when she sees it destroyed and he immediately tackles her through another soldier. Hyde’s demonic roar echoes from his lungs as he slams his fists at the Phantom and she kicks him in the chest, swinging round with her swords, the purple dust has worn off.

More soldiers begin to appear, including Valerian Knights created by Merlot. The huge red metal men burst out from portals and one runs straight at the enraged man, swinging round with its staff and smacking him across the face with it. Hyde grunts and he falls to his knees and another smashes him across his side and they punch him over and over again. His aura wears off and he groans with pain as they beat him. The Spectre lifts the beaten face of Yang up, looking at her as he holds her up by her shoulder still, done some serious damage to her shoulder. He then lets her fall from the hook and he presses his foot down on her belly, keeping her in place. “It’s such a shame...” He says with a sigh. Yang turns on her scroll, contacting everyone at once, in pain and struggling to speak.

“Yang?” Weiss’ voice calls back to her with a fearful voice.

“Yang? What’s wrong?” Blake also asks, scared for her best friend’s safety.

“Guys...we’re in trouble.” She winces in pain. Gunfire echoing as they shoot at Kassius, keeping him still so he does not cause any trouble. The Onyx Phantom stands in front of him and she points her sword straight at his throat to keep him there. He glares at the Phantom, desperate to kill her for what she did to him, what she did to his team. He will not die by her hands now.

The Spectre chuckles and he sees Weiss’ face on the list of individuals. He kneels down and picks the scroll up and he sends a chilling message. “Better hurry, Miss Schnee.” The Spectre advises with a sinister chuckle in his voice, he then crushes the scroll to tiny pieces in his cybernetic hand, releasing the shards of her expensive scroll onto the ground. He then walks towards her again, looking down at her as the Acolytes of Lien Ships fly overhead with guns on the two weakened heroes as they are beaten down. A soldier holds a camera with a live feed, pointing it directly at the Spectre and Yang on the ground. He looks at the camera with a smirk. “This live?” He asks the cameraman, and he just nods.

 

**Ruby**

All the way at Salem’s Sanctum, Tyrian has set up a live feed to Ruby for her to watch as her older sister dies by the hand of the Spectre. Tears in her eyes and a cackling laugh emerging from him as he stands there. She reaches out for her sister, seeing the blood and the bruises on her face, and seeing Kassius trying to tear himself free to help her. The Spectre walks in front of the camera and looks right at Ruby. Knowing that she is watching. “Why should torture be through physical pain, Ruby? I prefer pain through this type of suffering.” The Spectre states, transforming his metal hand back into the hook as he stands there. “I’m gonna kill your big sis, now...I’m gonna make it real nice and slow. So then you can hear her scream, cut her head off so then there is a little bit of life left in there for her to say goodbye.” He assures, sounding more and more insane as he speaks.

“No!” Ruby wails, crawling towards the screen, reaching for her sister. Fury and Loss stand nearby, looking at the crying girl with angry eyes. They would rather her suffering end, get to the Volcanic Chain Islands and be done with it. Rather than this. In this very moment, it is clear who the real evil is based upon.

The living human beings themselves, not the tortured souls. Not the Knights of Grimm, for they are only doing their duty. The Spectre prefers suffering, just like Tyrian. Tyrian smiles, laughing insanely as he stands there, and she watches as the Spectre walks over to her on the ground, the hook getting closer. “It’s such a shame...such a pretty girl...I’ll be sure to mail this back to your little sis.” He assures.

 

**Yang**

He raises the hook up into the air to finish her off with that sharp hook, and Yang closes her eyes, waiting for the coming pain. Kassius bellows with rage, trying to break free from the grasp of the Mercenaries that have just emerged from out of nowhere.

Until...

There is a bright white flash behind the Spectre, so powerful that it sends him flying and the other soldiers are knocked to the ground. The Onyx Phantom stays her ground, looking away from the blast and shielding her eyes as the explosion happens. The soldiers are not dead, just knocked over from the pulse. All the soldiers sit up and they look at what just happened. The Spectre looks at the pulse and his eyes widen with disbelief. The same look comes from Yang, tears actually leaking from her eyes from what she sees.

Even Ruby, back at Salem’s Sanctum, cannot believe her eyes.

Stood in the white pulse, is Summer Rose. She rises up from the white fog with her Scythe in her hand. A white set of robes and her hood back, black and red hair blowing in the wind as she stands majestically. She looks at her stepdaughter and then the camera where her real daughter is trapped right now with her huge silver eyes, just like her daughter’s. Ruby gasps with shock, tears escaping from her eyes from what she sees. Tyrian staggers back with nihilism in his yellow eyes.

Summer looks at the Mercenary as he stands back up, glaring at her with distrusting eyes, his hook hand sharp and ready to fight. Summer walks towards him, between her step daughter and him. Kassius has managed to break free from the mercenaries and he kicks one in the head, pointing Vulcan Nox at them. Summer swings her Scythe through her fingers, just like Crescent Rose but completely white. She slams the curved blade downwards and glares at him with the angered eyes of a mother. “Get away from my stepdaughter.” She snarls. Despite the threatening statement to the Assassin, her voice is still soft and gentle, just like that of her little girl. The one being hurt right now, the one who cannot believe what she is seeing on the other side of the live feed. The Spectre looks at her, horrified from seeing her again.

“That’s...impossible...you’re dead.” He stammers. Summer says nothing more, just stares at him and he growls with anger, and charges straight at her with a roar. She spins round gracefully, as elegant as an angel as she slices the blade across his aura, knocking him out of the air and sending him crashing into the floor. The blade cut through his armour and blood leaks from his wound. He then aims his pistol at her and opens fire, but she swings it round, cutting his other hand off, blood spraying out from his wound. He wails in agony, grabbing his hand with pain. She then pushes her hand forward and a swarm of white petals blast towards him and pushes him back. They all burn him from their impacts, causing him to be pushed back, some burn his skin and they shred his armour down to nearly nothing. She then lowers her hand and he drags his hook into the ground. Glaring at her. “What the hell are you?” The Spectre growls with fear in his voice. Summer walks towards him, looking down at him, slamming her scythe down beside his head, giving him the chance to flee.

“A mother who defends her children.” She growls. She then kicks him in the chest so hard that it sends him flying backwards and directly into a tree. He grunts and falls onto the floor, his head hitting the ground, blood leaking from his amputation. Mercenaries rush to his aid, pulling him away from her as she stands there. Yang looks up at her Stepmother with incredulity in her lilac irises. She then looks at the Onyx Phantom, the only individual other than her allies she just saved from execution who is still stood up. She glares at her with those orange eyes. As if she can see through the facade, she reveals something. “I know who you are...this is not who you truly are.” Summer says to the Onyx Phantom, but the Phantom tightens her grip on her blades.

Kassius looks at the Onyx Phantom with enraged eyes. Abruptly, a red portal opens and Raven bursts out from it and she swings her sword at where she thought the Spectre was. However there is nobody there. She has her teeth gritted and then she looks forward with stunned eyes as well. Summer looks at Raven with a kind smile, and Raven can’t stop looking so...flabbergasted from who stands there. “Sum-Summer?” Raven stammers, and the Mercenaries stand back up, aiming their guns at the spirit that has just thrown a wrench in their plans. The Spectre is completely knocked unconscious after that attack. The Onyx Phantom backs up from the moment and then she turns, seeing a blue portal opening and more individuals emerge.

The Architect at the lead, and he looks at Summer with his optics. Blake, Sun, Jaune and Adam emerge as well. Adam of all people has come to help them out. With the rest of Team J.N.P.R, Qrow, Winter and Kragen still at the Library, and Weiss and Neptune are not far away. This is the reinforcements they have. The Architect stands there with his rifle in his metal hands; Sun spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers. Oscar is not here however, perhaps because Blake told him to stay there. Adam stands tall, wearing a makeshift mask to replace the one that Kassius smashed when he got into that fight with him. He draws Wilt and Blush, pointing it at the Mercenaries that ambushed the couple. “Now what do we have here, some scum hurting a couple on their time out together?” Adam asks with a smirk, may be blind but he can tell that they are mercenaries just from the situation. The soldiers begin to retreat from the scene, running away, and Jaune stands there, his eyes meeting those of the Onyx Phantom.

“You...” He realises with wide eyes, remembering the fight he had with her at the town. “How’s the shoulder?” He asks her, remembering when he slammed the hook of the crane into her shoulder and threw her over the edge of the rooftop. That was the last he ever saw of her. He holds Crocea Mors tight in his hand. She looks straight at him, remaining as silent as a cat or a rabbit. She then retreats from the scene as well. Most of the individuals are too shocked by the apparition of Summer.

Summer looks at the camera on the floor and she crouches down to smile to her daughter who is still watching. “Fear not, my sweet...you will be free.” She promises, before the feed is cut off by Tyrian. Her appearance has filled her hope up further than just vengeance that fuelled her. She knows that her mother is still out there in some form. She looks at Raven’s large red eyes, who is also just as speechless as her eyes are wide. “Please...find my baby.” She begs. Raven smiles in a way few have seen, one of kindness.

“I promise.” She says. Summer smiles and then her ghostly body seems to fade away into the wind as quickly as she arrived. White petals being carried off in the wind, through the trees of the forest that this battle had taken place. Raven and Kassius bolt over to Yang who is still on the ground. They both help her up.

“Yang!” Kassius yells with fear for her life, checking her body. Luckily the only stab wound she suffered was her shoulder. He looks at her beautiful face, covered in bruises and her nose is bleeding heavily. He wipes the blood from her nose and holds her close to his chest. She instantly holds his hand with her real one. Raven hugs her and then she holds her by her shoulders.

“Don’t you ever do that again! Fear showed me you dying; this is too close to it nearly happening...if it weren’t for – for Summer – you would be dead! Do you realise that?” Raven shouts, not out of anger, but out of horror of nearly losing her baby girl. Kassius releases his girlfriend so then her mother can hold her, and Yang buries her head into her shoulder, hugging her. Raven looks up at Kassius who is injured and she smiles. He nods and then she hugs him, which surprises him. “Thank you...for being there...when I never was.”

She is speaking of more than what just happened here. He smiles and holds her as well. “You’ve nothing to apologise for...not anymore.” Kassius assures. Kassius then notices Blake, Sun and Jaune looking at each other and they nod. They abruptly start to pursue someone in the same direction that the Onyx Phantom ran. Adam and the Architect turn.

“Blake!” Adam yells.

“Where are you going?” The Architect questions.

Jaune stops and looks back at them. “She needs to be punished.”

Jaune then holds his sword tight and his shield in the other, following Blake and Sun as they sprint after the Onyx Phantom.

Time for her to stop running

And face her justice.

 

**The Onyx Phantom**

The Onyx Phantom sprints through the bushes with her swords sheathed and her Revolver in her hand. Some of the Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries are still with her as they run. She looks at one of them as they retreat and then a thug decides to speak to her. “What are our orders, ma’am?” The soldier asks her. She continues to run, but then she slows down, looking down at the floor, clenching her hand into a fist as she stands there. She looks over her shoulder, knowing that they are being followed.

“Ma’am?” Another soldier speaks, nervous.

And then...

“Hold this position.” The Onyx Phantom finally speaks. Her voice is distorted by the voice disguiser in her mouth grill that glows a deep red as she stands there. She grabs the hilts of her swords as she walks around. “They are coming, get ready.” She advises. Her orange eyes glow intensely as she prepares for the coming battle. The soldiers raise their weapons, one of them is a Seeker, and another is a Heavy with a Minigun.

 

**Sun**

Sun sprints through the forest with Blake at his side and Jaune at the back with his shield in hand. Sun’s teeth are gritted with anger and they dart towards the area of which that she is waiting for them. He spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers and he jumps into the air, using one of the trees as a platform to launch himself further. He jumps and then looks downwards. The Onyx Phantom stands there and she takes a step back, looking directly at him, spinning her swords through her fingers as she glares up at him. “Attack!” She yells. The soldiers emerge from the woods, opening fire on the trio. They all fire their rifles at them and Sun kicks her in the side of the head, causing the Assassin to stagger backwards. She holds her sword tight and spins round as she slashes directly at the Faunus Huntsman. He rolls backwards, the sword cuts a couple of hairs from his tail.

Blake jumps out and uses her semblance to confuse the Onyx Phantom, darting in and out constantly, shadow clones attacking and vanishing everywhere and the Phantom swings her sword across all of them, causing their shadowy forms to disintegrate. Suddenly the Seeker sprints directly at Blake and grabs her by her hair and throws her. She rolls across the ground and slams Gambol Shroud into the soil to slow herself down. Her irises have shrunken greatly with anger after seeing what happened to Yang and she engages the Seeker with her blade and sheathe. The soldier darts around the area to avoid her attacks, using the backpack of his to keep moving faster than she can.

Sun kicks the Onyx Phantom across the cheek and then she grabs him by the neck and smashes him downwards, into the soil and grass. She stabs at him with the sword and he rolls out of the way, crawling backwards. He is not making any jokes here, either; he is enraged from seeing his friend being hurt like that. He disconnects the staff into Nunchuck form and fires the shotguns repeatedly every time he spins and reloads a fresh shell into them. She deflects every single one with her blades, moving unbelievably fast as she does it. She crosses her swords over and then he kicks them with his foot.

The blades snap and ring out as they do it. Her eyes widen as she sees her blades shatter like glass from him kicking them like that. She releases the hilts and he goes to attack again, but she moves out of the way as Heavy Militant stands behind her and aims the Minigun at Sun. Sun’s blue eyes widen with fear when he sees him stood there, the many barrels spinning round faster and faster. Jaune appears in front of him, using his shield to protect him from the storm of bullets that has been unleashed by them. “Stay behind me!” Jaune shouts over the gunfire. The Onyx Phantom begins to retreat further.

Blake jumps in the air, using her Shadow Clone to trick the Seeker into going after her, and she jumps behind him and throws Gambol Shroud into his backpack. The blade of her Katana erupts out of the soldier’s ribcage, killing him, and she pulls it back with her grappling hook cable. She turns, seeing the Minigun User attacking Jaune and Sun, whilst the Onyx Phantom retreats. “I don’t think so.” Blake snarls with hate, climbing up one of the trees and hopping from tree to tree to chase after her. The soldiers do not notice her moving above them, they are all too busy shooting at Jaune’s shield. The Onyx Phantom continues to run from them.

Jaune and Sun examine their surroundings for a way to gain the upper hand. Then Jaune notices that the bullets are being deflected into the ground. He looks at Sun and he has already planned out his strategy on that as well. Jaune nods and he nods back. Jaune points the shield up an angle and at one of the soldiers; the bullets deflect from the Minigun and into the soldier, eviscerating him in the process. Sun points his Nunchuck Shotgun at the soldier on the other side, taking him out before he can shoot at Jaune and Jaune points to the soldier in that direction, and Sun switches, doing the same thing. Jaune walks closer and closer towards the soldier with the Minigun who is still unloading into his shield. The closer he gets, the faster he moves and they start to run towards him, Jaune keeping the shield up to deflect them. Sun clasps his hands together and a Via Sun forms, grabbing Jaune’s arm and throwing him towards the Minigun Soldier.

Jaune smashes the shield directly into the face of the soldier, shattering his helmet and knocking him on his arse. Jaune smiles and he gives Sun a high five.

 

**Blake**

The Onyx Phantom continues to retreat through the forest from them, until Blake suddenly yells and jumps at her from the trees, tackling her into the ground. She wraps the grappling hook cable around the neck of the Assassin, pulling backwards with all of her strength, gritting her teeth as she chokes the assailant. The Onyx Phantom reaches back with her arm to grab her and she smashes herself and Blake into a tree, making Blake yell out in pain. The Onyx Phantom grasps onto her long black locks of hair and she throws the Cat Faunus off her back and onto the ground. She pulls the cable off from her neck and then cracks her neck, seeing that Blake has vanished.

Her orange eyes narrow and her fist tightens extremely hard and she pulls her Revolver out from its holster, pursuing her. Blake runs as fast as she can for cover, until there is a deafening bang and a shock of pain rushes across Blake’s body, from her shoulder down to her arm and across her collarbone. She gasps with pain; hand on the bullet exit wound, blood leaking out and on her hand. It was coated in Purple Dust, pierced straight through her Aura. Blake takes cover behind a tree to hide from the Assassin. Blake listens to every sound, the distant sounds of gunfire in the distance as the retreating Mercenaries escape, or the sounds of Bullheads leaving the area after extracting the Spectre from the battle.

She looks forward and her heart stops for a full second, her large amber eyes wide and mouth agape to see the Onyx Phantom stood right in front of her, appearing out of Active Camouflage. She is about to pull the trigger.

Unexpectedly for the Onyx Phantom, Jaune is sprinting directly at her with his shield and Crocea Mors in his hands, anger in his blue eyes. She glares at him and with her other arm; she turns and swings her fist at him with all her might. The fist and his shield impact fast and suddenly, creating an extremely loud bang. Sun takes his chance as they planned to get Blake out of there and then he will help Jaune. The Onyx Phantom jumps and dropkicks him away, Jaune rolls backwards and he immediately lifts his shield up to block the bullet from her revolver that she fires whilst on her back. She rolls over and back to her feet as Jaune sprints towards her and swings his sword at her. She punches Crocea Mors from his finger tips, leaving him only with his shield. He holds it up and keeps on running around her, shielding himself from her rapid firing revolver when she slams her palm down on the hammer over and over until the gun clicks. She throws the Revolver onto the ground and goes in for Hand-To-Hand Combat.

She kicks him up the chest and then rips the shield from his sleeve and into hers. She stands tall and punches him up the jaw, making the Arc boy stagger. He glares at the Onyx Phantom with anger in his eyes. He grits his teeth and runs at her, and she throws his shield straight at him, using Telekinesis to throw it the speed of a bullet. He hops aside to avoid it and then he stands there, remembering the teachings of his friend Sun Wukong. He has not taught him much as of yet, but he is better than he was. He holds his arms up and uses the forearms to deflect the blows of his enemy. The Onyx Phantom starts throwing punches at him and he uses his arms as he was told, blocking them and then he punches her in the mouth piece, so hard in fact he managed to crack something. Sparks begin to burst from the lights and the breathing sound is becoming more and more malfunctioned. He punches and punches her in the head but she punches his arm aside, and with an open palm she hits him in the chest. He staggers backwards but he doesn’t back down, he stands his ground against the Onyx Phantom.

The Onyx Phantom then reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a small knife, one sharp enough to kill Jaune if she gets him in the right place. Jaune sees it and his eyes widen, jumping back from the blade as she swings it hard, yelling every time. Her voice disguiser has become extremely damaged; the distorted voice is starting to get mixed with her real voice, mostly a crackling sound from her grunts. Every time she goes to stick the knife in his body, Jaune remembers that Sun told him to use his forearms to stop the arm of the enemy getting closer. He does this as fast and as accurately as he can against her. Hitting his arms against her every time she swings at him. She throws the knife in the air and catches it so the blade has spun round and it is pointed towards him again. She has been trying to stab him in multiple locations in his body, mostly around the torso at the moment.

Jaune manages to catch her arm holding the knife and she starts to wrestle with her to release the blade, smashing his leg into her side and then throwing her over his shoulder, forcing her downwards with all his strength. Her head hits the ground but she swipes him off his feet and immediately gets back up. She forces the knife downwards towards his head and he pushes her arm to the left so the knife is imbedded in the soil. Jaune punches her in the side of the head and he rolls backwards, seeing her stagger back, he jumps in the air and spins round, kicking her in the chest and she smashes into the tree behind her. He turns and sees his shield is still imbedded in the tree she threw it at, trying to hit him.

The anger in her eyes is so blood fuelled, eyes glowing brightly as she stands there. She holds her hand out and uses her telekinesis and the grasp throws Jaune into the tree. Her big mistake, however, is that it is the same tree that his shield is in. He grabs the shield and runs at her, smashing it across her face with all his might. She jumps in the air and she lands on his shield, and he throws her off, standing his ground with the shield. She stands tall again and starts to run at him again. She jumps in the air and goes to punch down at his head.

Jaune moves out the way and her fist is lodged into the soil with a loud bang. He runs and kicks her in her side and smashes the shield over and over again into the mouth piece that changes her voice, damaging it more and more and more.

Finally, he grabs her by the head and throws her over his shoulder, crouching down.

What he does not realise at first, is that this action also has pulled the hood down.

And ripped the mouth plate off.

Fully revealing her face to him.

He turns to her and sees her standing up. Her long black hair surrounds her head, but then a black smoke seems to come off from the hood, and her hair. The hood was making her hair black. She stands tall and strong, and then faces him. His eyes widen and heart stops when he sees her face. Raven Black hair turning a beautiful red, a heart shaped face and small nose, and eyes...

Eyes that should be green.

He cannot believe the name that escapes his mouth, but it is undoubtedly her. “Pyrrha?” He gasps with disbelief. She then glares at him.

“I am Death! Nothing more!” She shouts with anger, about to attack again, until Sun and Blake appear behind him, but they too are just as stunned at this revelation as she stands there, glaring at them with confused orange eyes. Why are her eyes orange? Not green?

Suddenly, a Nevermore appears from the clouds with a roar and it lands down behind her, shifting into the form of the Knight of Death. The landing knocks them all on their backs and he stands tall. He grabs Pyrrha and pulls her away from them, a portal of shadows opens and they vanish as he steps into it.

As quickly as they arrived.

They are gone.

Jaune remains sat there with wide eyes, unable to comprehend this revelation. The mask of the Onyx Phantom has been destroyed. The Onyx Phantom is Pyrrha Nikos...this whole time? He stands up slowly with shocked eyes, unable to speak of his horror. If it were any different...he would have been happy...but his plan to bring her back...is now worthless. Because she is actually alive, and has been working with them.

What Summer said... _I know who you are...this is not who you truly are._

Is she being controlled?

Her eyes were never orange, they were emerald green. Jaune could never forget her beautiful eyes. He stands there, his heart in pain, knowing she is being used this way like that.

Pyrrha Nikos...

Is alive...

And the shroud of the Onyx Phantom.

Is over.


	38. No Destiny

**Pyrrha**

_You are no one..._

_You are a soldier_

_Jaune does not love you_

_They are all enemies_

_Kill your enemies_

_Love nothing_

_Feel nothing_

_Think nothing_

_You have no destiny_

_No destiny_

_No destiny_

Her own voice whispers in her mind, but it is not her real thoughts. She is being manipulated by something greater than any of them realise. Using her beliefs against her.

The Words of the Fallen.

She is restrained down in a seat, dazed from some sort of pain in her head. Her orange irises flit back and forth, back and forth. She is lost, confused of where she is. Supersonic ringing sounds in her ears that bring tears to her eyes as she cannot bear the pain any longer. She screams in agony from the loud sounds and then the being that tortures her stops, pulling its long black tentacles away from her head. The Seer clicks creepily as it floats backwards from Pyrrha, electrical volts passing through the many limbs, the orange light glowing inside of its black spherical body. Pyrrha faintly heard the voice of someone behind the Seer, telling it that she has had enough. The Seer moves aside and her eyes widen when she sees her approaching, her pale hands behind her back. Black and red eyes glaring at her as she approaches the girl. Pyrrha’s hair is not in a ponytail like she has always had it; it is let down and uncared for, but still red. Her orange eyes flicker for a few moments and she winces, her green irises visible for a couple of seconds before it returns to their orange form again.

Salem stops in front of Pyrrha with her hands behind her. “What happened down there?” Salem questions sternly. Pyrrha stammers, sweat beading from her skin as she is held there, stammering as she tries to find her regal voice again. She shakes the whispers out of her mind, or at least attempts to, so then she can think clearly. She shakes her head over and over; she can’t get the voice from her head, the whispers that pulsate in her temple.

It repeats over and over and over again. She shakes her head over and over, distressed from these haunting messages in her head. Salem furrows her brow and then she aggressively whacks Pyrrha’s cheek, making her head recoil to the left from shock. She sits there, and the hit was so hard, that it has knocked it all from her head. Her orange eyes have now turned green again. She looks up at Salem with fearful eyes at the Grimm Humanoid Woman that stands there. In the shadows is the Knight of Death with Ferrum Arctus pushed into the ground as he stands there. “Jaune...” She whispers with a little smile on her face. The old Pyrrha is here, not whatever Salem has done to her, making her become the Onyx Phantom like that. Hazel is stood inside the room with her with Tyrian as well, who has his arms crossed as he looks at her. They still have not wondered about what he did to help Oscar escape. “He was there.” She says to her, still in love with him from her tender voice, remembering her true love’s face. Salem rises back up and looks at Death and he says nothing.

She then looks at her again, crouching down to look at the girl. She takes her hand and touches the Invincible Girl’s cheek, her demonic eyes glow bright red and then Pyrrha feels a horrific burning sensation on her cheek as Salem does something to her. Pyrrha cries out from the pain, tears leaking from her eyes as she does this action to her. Salem remains to look stern as she does this. “I understand you miss him...he misses you...but you have a duty. A destiny to uphold, and I need you to continue to do so.” She says, and then, the green eyes are flooded with orange fire as they turn back into the eyes of the Onyx Phantom. She is still in pain and then she looks at her.

“She was there.” Pyrrha answers, sounding less emotional now than when her eyes were their natural colour. She sounds more like a machine here than before, her tender voice sounds rough around the edges. Salem continues look at Pyrrha with those stern eyes, wanting her to elaborate on what she is saying. Even if she might know exactly what she is talking about, so she lets her finish it. “Summer Rose.”

Her eyes widen and she takes a step back with shock. She then looks at Tyrian who saw it happen as well with Ruby watching the whole thing on the feed back here. She nearly staggers back and Death does not move, he continues to stand there in the darkness, listening to every word. Hazel looks at Tyrian and then he adds to her point. “It’s true, your grace, I saw it all on that feed. So did the girl.” He snarls with anger, clenching his hand into a fist.

Salem looks at Pyrrha. “She injured the Spectre and he was extracted, some soldiers and I attempted to escape but their allies pursued us. Then I saw...him...” She says, and despite remembering him earlier, this version of her does not seem to remember that memory very well. Like a searing pain in her head, she cannot place his name here for whatever reason. The Onyx Phantom is still in her, even if the shroud of mystery has been removed, it lives on within her. A Spectral Assassin that is bound to her body for the rest of her life, unless if they can pull it out of her. “The guy with the sword...” She says weakly, and even then she starts to turn her head like she is having a tic. A flicker of her green eyes behind the orange faintly seen for a moment as she is sat there. They are clearly struggling to keep her under their control; all it took was seeing Jaune for this to happen.

“We should have never used her; the other Phantom was working perfectly fine.” Tyrian states as he stands there, speaking honestly to his queen. Also revealing something unbelievably important. Salem shakes her head and speaks just as honestly with her servant as Pyrrha is sat there, looking down at the floor.

“No, after Jaune Arc injured her with that hook in her shoulder she needed time to recover. We needed that skill to keep up the appearance. Not like it matters now.” Salem sighs as she walks around the room; Death has yet to say anything.

“Of all the people, the girl that the boy loved? I feel like it was a bad idea anyways.” Hazel states.

“He told me that the shroud would be revealed eventually, perhaps now is that time.” Salem says. “We need to get her ready for the Islands. They might be able to follow.” Salem explains. Death walks out of the shadows and he simply touches the side of her head with his finger and her eyes roll into the back of her head and she falls back into her chair, being put to sleep in one moment. Death grabs the end of the chair and pulls it with him; it has wheels beneath it so then she can be taken away. Salem lets him take it out first and then she follows him.

He pulls the chair into the hallway of cells, past other prisoners that are trapped inside. Waiting to either be turned into more warriors or to be executed in the most painful of ways. The wails of their prisoners echo from the Torture Chambers nearby, ravaging their souls and their bodies until they have nothing left to fight for. Ruby is sat in one of these cells, her aura still repairing the wounds from Tyrian Callows. She plays with the damaged laces of her shoes, and then she hears the squeaking wheel approaching. She looks up and sees Death pulling the chair with ease. The red eyes look at her and her silver eye looks back with a scowl on her little face. Tyrian smirks at her as he walks, and when he passes, that’s when Ruby sees the body of Pyrrha in the armour of the Onyx Phantom, seeing her face.

Her eye widens and she springs up to her feet and to the bars. “Pyrrha!” She screams, reaching out for her friend. Salem stands there and looks at Pyrrha and then at Ruby. Hazel looks at Ruby, compassionately because of his true nature. Not the ruthless monster that he used to be, there is a good man in there somewhere, both Ruby and Oscar know that. Hopefully he does as well. Salem looks at Ruby and she says something that truly sticks with her.

“She chose her fate.” Salem says coldly, referencing her valiant attempt to stop Cinder at the Fall of Beacon. Ruby glares at Salem with angered eyes. “Wherever Cinder is...she would be even madder knowing that she is still alive. She has only managed to kill one person.” Salem explains, looking at Ruby.

“Amber?” Ruby presumes with hate in her eyes.

“Hazel’s daughter, and yet even then...I can tell that she lives on within her. You know it as well.” She says to Ruby and ruby looks up at the pale woman. Salem looks down at the floor with a sigh. “Pyrrha was given a chance...and she chose to leave the Arc Boy...now she pays the price for her choice.” She says, walking away from Ruby.

“Who are you to make that choice?” Ruby interrogates, managing to get Salem to stop in her tracks. She turns and looks back at Ruby, her eyes glowing menacingly red at her.

“ _He_ chose...not I...and those you deal with him – face an eternity in his service. As have I.” She says, walking away from Ruby. Ruby’s eyes widen with confusion and then she slumps down to her knees. She just realised that Pyrrha is in fact alive, for how long she does not know. But she is definitely alive, and has been brainwashed by something. She hears the clicks of the Seer and she sees the creature floating past, it stops by her cell, as if it is looking at her. Before it moves on again.

 

**Ruby**

 

A chuckle emerges from round her shoulder and then she turns with a gasp. Roman Torchwick has returned, taking his hat off and showing off his orange hair as he stands there in her cell. “Well ain’t that just nightmare fuel?” He chuckles with a shrug. The Seer remains there for a moment, unlike any Grimm that Ruby has ever seen. This one is something else; it is sentient but cannot speak. It then moves off again and disappears down the hallway. Ruby sits there, trying to think of how Pyrrha could be alive.

“How can she be alive? I saw...I saw her die...” She whispers to herself. Roman looks down at her and he smiles, swinging his cane around by the hook shaped handle as he stands there.

“Curious, isn’t it? I mean shouldn’t she be inside a vacuum cleaner? I mean she did get incinerated by Cinderella. Damn...I remember her a little better now. You know if she wasn’t just so scary – and if dear Neo didn’t exist – I would have totally worked my charm on her.” He explains, remembering Cinder’s face and he chuckles, throwing his fist in the air as he remembers her every feature. “Shame she was as insane as she was sexy.” He says with a smirk, and Ruby scoffs with disgust. She has come to terms that he isn’t real; she is now trying to come to terms with the fact that she is being followed by the ghost of Torchwick for the rest of her life.

“Why you?” She sighs, grabbing the bridge of her nose with annoyance. He starts laughing, guffawing more like, clapping his hands as he walks around her. He then walks through the bars of her cell, still a spirit after all, and he crouches down on the other side to look at the little girl.

“Whaaat? Come on, Ruby! That hurts that you didn’t miss me. Now come on, admit it, you do miss me. At least in comparison to these creepy ghosty-goos.” He explains as he crouches down, tilting his head as he looks at her. Ruby sighs, and even she cannot go against his logic there.

“Okay...I guess in comparison you aren’t so bad. Just wish it was someone else in my head.” She sighs and he smirks.

“Who? Pyrrha? She’s alive now. Oh – Penny Polendina! Oh wait no she was a robo-gal, wouldn’t work out.” He mutters and Ruby clenches her fist into a fist when he lists these names. “Oh yeah, your mother passed away didn’t she? So sorry for your loss. That would be quite a nice one for a little one like you.” He says with a shrug and Ruby groans, sliding down onto the floor, lying on her back and looking up at the cracked ceiling, rolling her silver eye. She closes her eye and sighs, muttering things to herself to pass the time.

She opens her eye and then he’s next to her, looking down at her with both hands on his cane as he looks at her with a smirk. He takes out a cigar and puts it in his mouth and smokes it. He takes a good huff and then he holds it in his hand. He points Melodic Cudgel at her head soon after he appears. “Also...How did that happen?” He asks, pointing the staff right at her eye-patch. She touches the patch and then sighs, looking away from him.

“Screw you, if you’re in my head then you already know.” She brushes off, looking down the hallway at the cell where Oscar once was. Her only friend, something she hopes could blossom into something more beautiful if she ever gets out of this place.

“Actually I don’t, I might be in your head but in between my death and being linked to you, I have no idea of what happened in between.” He states and Ruby actually looks back at where he is, but does not turn her head itself. She sighs, since she is not gonna be able to get him away. He then sits down beside her, patting her arm. Fear has done a masterful job with this hallucination, because he really feels like he is real from how she actually felt his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Rubes; fill me in on the deets!” Torchwick begs, crossing his legs. He rests Cudgel down on his knees as he sits there and Ruby sighs, rolling her eye and then she sits up and leans against the wall. Roman still sat in the same point. He looks at her eye and then at her. “So what happened to your eye?” He asks her, and Ruby looks at him with a confused expression.

“Why do you care? You would have done the same to me.” She questions, and he looks at her with an honestly upset expression.

“Come on, Red – I know we’ve never seen eye to eye before, but I am no torturer. I would have just killed you and be done with it.” He admits, Ruby looks at him with a confused face. She is struggling to tell if she should be flattered or scared by that remark. Either way it doesn’t really fill her with any more joy than she has had as the guest of honour here at Salem’s Sanctum.

“Doesn’t really fill me with happiness, I’ll be honest.” She says to him.

“Well, I can’t change. That’s a quality in me that I adore.” He says with a laugh.

“No kidding.” Ruby groans, flicking her long hair from her eye. She sighs and then decides to tell him about what happened at Mistral. “Well – Death did this to me. The Knights attacked Mistral, made the city tear itself apart and attracted the Grimm to kill everyone. It worked – just like Beacon, but worse.” She explains and Roman sits there, listening to every word. Probably just annoyed that he missed seeing the fall of another city. A destruction that he played no part in because he was swallowed into the belly of a Griffin, which was then blown to bits as Ironwood’s Ship crashed into Vale and the reactor exploded. “Death showed up and kicked the crap out of us...Weiss could be dead for all I know, the last thing I remember seeing of her was him stabbing her with his sword. He then through Jaune and I through a wall and I hit the ground. He launched an arrow at me which when across my eye.” Ruby explains, pulling her patch off and showing it to the spectre who sits beside her. His eyes widen with shock when he sees that it really is bad. The whole thing is gone, nothing left to resemble an eye. He almost seems mournful for her, despite her not being dead.

“I’m – sorry, Red.” He admits to her, which really surprises her.

“You’re...sorry?” She questions.

“Yeah.” He answers.

“Why? I killed you, this should be pleasing you.” Ruby presumes as she looks at the thief.

“Okay, okay – I’ll admit that did upset me a little. But you’re still a kid, you shouldn’t have to live with a wound like that at that age. I mean with what happened to Neo I understand, but...I dunno...I hate seeing people of your age being hurt like that.” He explains to her.

“But you’d happily kill me?” Ruby scoffs.

“Well, nobody’s perfect. And at least at that point it’s over, isn’t it. Sometimes death is better than torture.” He explains. Ruby scoffs, unable to tell if she should be flattered by his psychotic statements or terrified by his honesty with her. She is currently in her middle-ground with him.

Ruby looks down at the floor, and she starts to think back on what happened at Beacon, and it seems so does Torchwick from his next question. “What about...Neo? Is she...alive?” He asks her, sounding extremely sincere now as he asks it. Ruby looks at him, and he hears something in his voice that she has never heard before. Love, real love as well. From the concern in his voice and the way he looks at Ruby. He cares for her a lot, and Ruby has not seen her since the fall.

“I, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since.” Ruby admits, since she hasn’t. Ruby sees Roman sighing, holding his hat as he takes it off and actually burying his head into his hands. He lifts his head back up and looks at her.

“I hope she’s okay – she was so good to me.” He explains. Ruby tilts her head and she wants to know more.

“Was she always a – you know – a mute?” She asks and Roman looks at her. She has no entered a full blown conversation with a hallucination, but even she knows that this is the real Torchwick in her head. Since he can tell her things that he never told anyone. He leans against the wall beside Ruby and he crosses one leg over the other.

“No. She wasn’t, we were...well we were more than close.” He begins.

 

**Roman**

Many years ago...

A younger Roman Torchwick smashes a window open and jumps inside, pointing a rifle at the head of a shopkeeper. He has some thugs with him, similar ones that Junior once lent to him. They wear black and red clothes with golden linings in areas. Older Acolytes of Lien, when they were short of funds and just became thugs for hire. He does not have his cane yet or even his hat, his hair was longer as well and was still as orange as ever. He aims the rifle directly at the shopkeeper and he gives the other man all of his money, loading it into the bags. They even smash the cases and take the dust crystals, taking them away. _“I was a rent-a-thug, nothing more. No crime boss, just your run of the mill scumbag.”_ Roman narrates as he remembers his own past.

The sirens wail as the police cars arrive and the cops aim their guns at the criminals. He aims his gun ad starts to fire at them, yelling and taking cover behind a car. He hits a policeman in the chest, blood spurting out of his spine, causing him to collapse to the ground. The policeman clatters his head on the tarmac and Roman gets down, changing mags and loading a fresh one in, springing the firing mechanism into place. One of the other thugs throws a grenade after pulling the pin and releasing the striking hammer. The metal bomb bounces and rolls underneath the car, detonating in a huge fiery explosion, killing the over policemen. He jumps into the driver seat and waits for his other men to get into the car.

He immediately hits the accelerator, driving away from the scene.

 _“This was our life back then...it was around a couple of years ago. I was eighteen.”_ He explains as he thinks back on his past experiences when he was younger.

 _“How old is Neo, anyway?”_ Ruby asks him.

 _“When I met her she was seventeen. I was twenty four before...well I was eaten.”_ Torchwick tells her.

 _“Sorry.”_ Ruby says.

 _“Yeah well, as long as she is okay...”_ He says, thinking back.

More of his memories flash before him. In an apartment building with lots of hidden cash in a vault under the floor. He opens the panel and takes out a packet of lien, around a thousand lien’s worth. He throws it in the air and catches it with a smirk. After leaving the apartment, he found a clothes shop and bought the outfit he wore in the current day, along with his hat. He puts the hat on and winks at the man who sold it to him.

The younger Roman enters the city of veil on his next heist, wearing his new attire. As he walks over, a couple of young girls, the same age as he is, walk past him giggling after they checked him out. He smirks after smoking a cigarette and he throws it on the floor. One of them looks back and he continues to grin, winking at them, causing them to giggle further. He then continues to move onto the city itself.

His memory is jumbled with thousands of different moments, but most are the same. Taking illegal drugs and partying at nightclubs. Sleeping with girls he picked up and ditching them in the morning, getting drunk, getting in bar fights. _“It was always the same, do drugs, have sex, get drunk, get in a fight, repeat. Every day until a new heist boss needed my help.”_ He explains to her, a young girl. But she has seen enough to know what all those things are.

One memory shows him a new apartment building, sticking needles filled with heroine into his wrists to loosen up a little. Taking more money from his makeshift bank that he has created under the floor, more lien being taken out from his other heists and jobs he has done for people. In his closet is an old Acolytes of Lien outfit, but he ditched it and moved on.

 _“Yeah, I was once an Acolyte of Lien. But the pay was getting worse and worse by the day, I didn’t wanna stick around for when Ortega couldn’t afford it anymore. So I quit and left Mistral and moved to Vale. Wasn’t hard to find some work there, luckily. Didn’t expect to find that beautiful girl there, though.”_ He explains.

Beside an empty heroine needle, is a handgun. He puts on his suit and leaves a woman naked behind in his bed and then he picks up the bed, and walks out after he puts his hat on. He gets into a car and his memory flashes forward to him lowering the window and gunning down a target in his car whilst he was on the phone. His skull, blood and brain matter splattering against the glass as it shatters, the gunshots echo throughout the city. Causing riots, throwing Molotov’s into rival gang buildings, fires billowing out of buildings, even a grenade into one of them. He walks away after putting a cigarette in his mouth and smirking as he walks off, putting his hat back on. The explosion blows out all the windows, into the streets, chunks of rubble being thrown everywhere from the blast.

He turns round with a new weapon in his hand. Melodic Cudgel, the sight folding out at the end and he aims it at the skull of a previous crime boss, pulling the trigger and blowing his brains out onto the pavement. He stands there, setting sun surrounding him as he stands there, smoke trailing from the red barrel of his cane. He then sets it down and walks off, whistling calmly as he leaves. _“Same shit, different day.”_ Roman tells her, happily cursing whenever he pleases around Ruby. Of which Ruby is not bothered by anymore after her previous experiences.

Torchwick stands outside of a nightclub, his long hair stylised as it is now, orange and swept over one eye. He smirks as he looks at the nightclub and he pushes himself off the wall and walks towards it. He opens the doors, booming music playing in the club with near naked girls dancing on poles inside. From blondes to red heads to brunettes. Plenty of him to choose to warm his bed. He walks through and he looks at the bartender, a short girl with a very beautiful face as she wears very few girls in the club. As all the female staff seem to, as a part of their job. He walks towards her and then a guy barges in front of him to chat her up. She smiles at the man and looks at him. “What can I get you for drink?” She asks him. She has a very soft, silvery soft-spoken voice, pearly white teeth and heart shaped face. But the thing that made her stand out the most to Torchwick, was how unique she looked. Her brown and pink eyes, and her brown and pink hair.

“Come on – baby – why don’t we have some fun?” The drunken man asks her, and Torchwick stands at the bar next to him, keeping his eye on the scene.

 _“I didn’t usually act as the gentleman...but...there was something so different about her. Not like the other girls I was with, she had character.”_ Roman narrates.

Neo takes her hand away from the drunken thug that is trying to take her away. “Sorry pal, you ain’t my type.” She honestly says, and yet in quite a seductive way. She winks at the brutish man and goes to walk off to serve another customer. That customer was to be Roman, until the thug gets aggressive. He grabs her wrist and yanks her back to him.

“Hey! We’re not finished!” He yells, and his actions get Roman angry, making him glare at him.

“Get your damn hands off me, prick.” Neo snarls with anger, gritting her teeth. She rips her hand from his grasp, giving him a cold look and she aims to get to him again, but the guy grabs her by her hair this time. “Hey!” She yells with anger. She spins round with elegance and grace, roundhouse kicking the thug across the right hand side of his head, knocking him to the left. Towards Roman, and he turns round and pummels the man down into the bar. The thug smashes his head against the bar so hard the glasses shatter and he gets knocked out cold instantly. He groans loudly on the floor, blood leaking from his head. Roman turns, suddenly being attacked by another guy. He punches him in the face and Roman slams into the table, pressing his hands against the bar. His hat flies off his head and the guy starts to force his neck towards a shard of glass pointed upwards. Roman holds himself there, gritting his teeth with anger as he turns and glares at the man. He spins round and thumps him in the head and then kicks him in the chest.

Neo is stood behind him and she performs a beautiful back flip and kicks the guy up the chin with her heeled boot, throwing spit from his mouth and causing him to collapse to the ground. Neo bends over and picks up his hat and offers it to him with a toothless smile on her small face. He takes it and smiles, putting it back on. “Thanks.” Roman says to her and she walks back behind the bar.

“What can I get you?” She asks him.

“After that? I think a Whiskey on the Rocks would be nice.” He chuckles, grabbing and twisting his jaw back into place after that punch he took from that other guy. He also flexes his hand and wrist after the punch he threw. She sets his glass down with ice in it, along with an icepack for his jaw. And he sees that and she smiles. “Thanks.” He says, quickly giving her the amount she deserves for that. He presses the cold pack against his jaw and then he takes a swig from his glass. He sets the glass down, relatively hard, causing the ice cubes to clink as they move from the slam down. He looks at Neo and she is fixated on him.

 _“It was like we were destined.”_ Roman chuckles.

“What’s your name?” Roman asks her.

“Neopolitan. But people tend to call me Neo.” She answers with a humble shrug.

“Neo? That’s a pretty  name.” He says. She smiles adorably.

“Thanks.” She giggles.

“Suits someone as pretty as you.” He adds and it makes her blush.

“Well, you’re pretty cute as well.” She adds, making him smile and laugh.

“A little young to be working in a place like this, aren’t you?” He asks her.

“Well, when none of the schools will accept you...a seventeen year old has gotta do what she’s gotta do.” She says with a shrug.

He smiles and he can’t take his eyes off her beauty. Her lengthy multicoloured hair tumbles across her bare shoulders and she walks around. This is not a lustful obsession he has over her, she has an undeniably attractive body and face, even her voice is that of a Mockingbird. But just that she has such personality to her, and not only that, she is a badass as well. She can look after herself when she needs to. “I saw how you fight – Beacon won’t accept you?” Roman curiously asks her.

“I would but – well my mother couldn’t afford the schools beforehand.” She explains to him.

“No dad?” He asks.

“My mom was a Prostitute, I was an accident.” She admits, making Roman feel bad. “Never met my dad.” She says to him with a shrug. Roman compassionately smiles and he takes the ice pack from his jaw.

“Yeah, I get that. My dad ran off when I was a kid, mom dumped me in an orphanage most of my days. Couldn’t control me...I tried to be good but, the school I was in and everything, where I was raised, it was impossible.” Roman conveys to Neo.

“How’d you end up as a mercenary?” She asks him, and he looks up at her with a surprised look.

“How’d you –?” Roman attempts, but she stops him before he can go any further, finger on his lips. She has pink fingernails as well and she smiles at him.

“I’d recognise you anywhere, Roman Torchwick.” She whispers with a smile. He raises an eyebrow. “My shift finishes in ten minutes, wanna get out of here?” She asks him. He smirks and he gives her a tip, standing up and looking at her.

“I’ll see you in ten.” He says, walking out of the club.

 _“Turns out she was just as obsessed over me as I became of her. I waited outside and she found me.”_ Torchwick remembers, remembering every single detail about her. Torchwick turns and sees her walking out. Neo wears a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with very high heels. Under her jacket is a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wears a multitude of necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck. She also holds her umbrella and opens it in the rain over her head, dwarfed by Roman and he smirks, walking towards her.

 _“That was the first night I ever shared with a woman where I actually wanted her to be happy. And I didn’t leave her side...I didn’t think she would be the one. Until she was.”_ Roman explains, which would bring a tear to many eyes. But for whatever reason, it does not seem to do this to Ruby. She has become much colder than she used to be.

Hours later, the couple are in a bed together, completely naked after the night they shared together. Wrapped in each other’s arms, her legs around him and their lips caressing one another, him kissing her bare neck and her sighs of pleasure filling the room. His memory fast forwards after the hours they spent making love to each other, her hands around his chest, touching the many scars he has collected. From bullets and knives, and on his arms. The cigarette scars and the marks where he has injected countless substances into his veins. She caresses his cheek and giggles as he feels his hand sliding up her slim, curvy back. He holds her close, and she nuzzles into his chest with a smile, her cheek against his chest, the sheets around their bodies as they sleep in the bed.

 _“She cleaned me up, got me through all the tough times. Weaned me off those goddamn drugs.”_ He narrates as his memories of her looking after him return in his apartment. Wiping the sweat from his brow as he cries from the extraordinary pain he experiences from withdrawal of his addiction. Vomiting into buckets, hugging him, washing him down when he needed it. _“She was always there for me, fought by my side.”_

He remembers how she helped him on odd jobs, fighting with her umbrella, using her semblance to trick people into giving her things. Annihilating cops with her skills as a warrior.

_“It was...perfect. For a while.”_

 

Back at the Sanctum, outside of his memories, he sits there, engrossed in those memories with her that he could look over for the rest of his life. His hand on his knee, as if he was really there. Ruby looks at Torchwick with confused eyes at why he looks so sad.”What we had was real...” He sadly says, longingly wanting to see her eyes again, he closes his eyes to see her face.

“You said she wasn’t _always_ a mute...what happened?” Ruby asks him, sounding concerned. Roman clenches his hand into a fist on this subject and his smitten expression, turns to rage.

“I detest the day I ever met him.” He snarls. Ruby looks straight at her old enemy.

“Who?” She asks.

“The Soothsayer.”

 

 _“It was a year after we met. One day, she was working there. I was still doing some odd jobs and she wanted to join me.”_ Roman narrates, his memory flashing back to the Nightclub where she used to work. He took up work there as a bodyguard for the place. But really it was all so then he could be there for her, in case anyone was being aggressive towards her like that thug. He stands there with his arms crossed, wearing the attire, and he made her life so much easier. Fewer thugs showed up there, it was a perfect nightclub.

Until he came. “Roman Torchwick? Is it?” A man asks him, and he turns to see a man approaching him with his hands together, fingertips touching each end. Roman sees him stepping out of the shadows, his bald head and his clothes that match that of a Merchant. He smirks away as he approaches, brown eyes as he looks at Torchwick. Torchwick narrows his eyes and he looks at the entrance he was guarding.

“I don’t remember seeing you coming in here.” Roman states, bewildered from how he managed to get there. It s the same Soothsayer that Oscar met in Arkhonex. Thousands of years ago, he is most certainly not human in any right.

“Oh, I have my ways.” He says.

“Who are you?” Roman interrogates.

“I am but a humble Soothsayer.” He says to him and Roman’s eyes narrow at that as he looks around.

“Yeah, sure – a Soothsayer who comes to a Strip Club? Forgive my disbelief.” He scoffs.

“I did not come here for the eye candy – though I must say, it is tempting isn’t it?” He chuckles.

“I already have someone.” He says, showing that he is extremely loyal to Neo. Fallen deeply in love with her.

“Isn’t that the truth?” He chuckles as he stands before him, walking around with his eyes darting around the room. And then he looks directly at Neo, who is looking at him as he speaks to Roman. She is concerned about it. Roman then glares at Vir Nominis Umbra with angry eyes, wanting him to leave now.

“If you are here to cause a scene, do it outside.” He demands.

“Oh, I have not come here for that purpose, no...I am a simple Merchant and Soothsayer, and I can tell you have a wish on your mind, dear sir.” He explains as he walks around him, stopping between him and Neo. Roman looks at Neo and then at Vir Nominis Umbra. He lowers his arms, one hand near his gun in case it gets violent. “You shan’t bother yourself with your gun, it will do nothing.” He promises.

“Yeah? Wanna test that theory?” Torchwick scoffs.

“What is your wish, Roman Torchwick? For if you wish, I can grant it for you.” He says, walking closer to him, hands still held together with that sinister smile on his relatively normal face.

 _“My wish...it was always for her. I loved her with all my heart, all I ever wanted for her is to be happy. To be free. She had always wanted to leave that god awful club and go with me, get rich together. Have a family of our own, even have a singing career. For she had the most beautiful voice in all of Remnant.”_ Torchwick remembers, smitten to her even now. _“I just – wanted her happy – but I never expected that damned Soothsayer to be so – cruel.”_

Torchwick looks at Neo and then at the Soothsayer. “We wish to be free of this place, to be rich together, to stay together to the end. I wish for us to be powerful.” He explains and Vir Nominis Umbra smiles. He chuckles as he walks around.

“What a thoughtful wish.” He says. Neo picks up her glass and then takes a sip of it, setting it back down. “Always looking out for your partners, aren’t you?” He chuckles. Neo’s eyes suddenly burst open and she gasps with pain, hand on her throat and the sigh horrifies him and he sprints towards her.

“Neo!” He wails. Vir Nominis Umbra stands there, and watches as Torchwick holds her in his arms as she falls to the ground, he managed to catch her, but she is in extreme pain. She tries to scream with pain, blood leaking from her mouth, bruising forming around her throat and she shakes with pain, choking on her own blood. Her voice gets fainter and fainter as whatever was spiked in her drink ravages her vocal chords. He then glares at Vir Nominis Umbra, seeing him walking towards them, holding an empty vial of a potion. He smirks, dropping it on the floor, causing it to shatter.

Roman yells with rage, drawing his handgun and firing it over and over again at Vir Nominis Umbra, but the bullets shoot directly through him, black smoke bursting out from him. Like a Creature of Grimm, but it has no effect. Just as he promised it would. He walks towards him, and Roman keeps on shooting until the gun clicks. He holds her close and she spits out blood onto the floor, and accidentally on his suit. Vir Nominis Umbra kneels down and looks at them both, Neo weakly looks at him, barely able to open her eyes at this point. “What did you do?” He cries out.

“Every wish has a cost – small print, and thus it does not mean I corrupted our deal. From tomorrow you will have everything you asked for. Your greed and hunger for strength has a cost Roman Torchwick, and now you know what that means.” Vir Nominis Umbra tells him, walking away from Roman and Neo, towards the dark of night. He turns and then bows theatrically to them both as he leaves. “A pleasure doing business with you both.” He says with a smile.

He fades away into the darkness.

Like a shadow.

Roman glares at the darkness with anger and fear both in his eyes and then he looks down at his beloved, seeing how much blood is coming out of her mouth from her horrific suffering. He holds her close, kissing her cheek. “You’ll be okay, Neo...I promise.” He whispers into her ear. “I love you...just...just hold on.”

 

Roman sits there, looking down at the floor with ashamed eyes. He closes his eyes with sadness and Ruby can’t stop looking at him. She has never seen him like this. A heartbroken Roman Torchwick, and Ruby might not realise it yet. But this is extremely revealing, that he was behind the birth of two of their foes. And it also means one more thing.

Vir Nominis Umbra...

...is still out there.

 

**Salem**

Salem walks towards a dark room, opening the door and she stands there, holding her hands behind her back as she looks at the individual inside. There is an Onyx Phantom Armour in the corner, the armour damaged on the shoulder, and a young woman sat there at a table. She has been working on a wound on her shoulder for a while now. Stitching the hole in her shoulder up herself, biting onto a cloth to hold back the pain. She has her top off, only wearing a bra at the moment. The only light source is one light bulb on her shoulder which is still dripping with blood. She wraps her shoulder up with a bandage that works well too. “It seems we have a new opportunity for you...if you are ready.” Salem announces. The woman stops and then she stands up. Shards of glass like illusion form around her body, creating her clothes. A white jacket forms with pink interior, brown pants are still being worn and her corset forms as well. Her many necklaces appear too around her neck and she stands up, taller than she normally is because of her heels. Her long fluffy pink and brown hair moves aside and she looks straight at Salem.

Large pink and brown eyes meeting her red ones. Salem smirks.

Neo nods.


	39. A Suicide Mission

**Jaune**

“She’s alive...” Jaune gasps with disbelief, his eyes agape where he walks with Sun and Blake in the Headquarters of Raven’s Warrior home. He looks down at the floor as he walks, hand still gripped tight on the hilt of Crocea Mors. He cannot get the thought of Pyrrha’s Survival being possible out his head. “It was her, she looked right at me, all three of us, and she didn’t even know us...” Jaune mutters with confusion.

“How is this even possible? Ruby said that she was dead, she saw it happen. No way she could have come back.” Sun explains with scepticism in his voice, many people forget that Sun did wait for him whilst the rest were put on the ship to return. He did not leave any of them behind. Sun was the one waiting when Weiss came back and Qrow returned, carrying his daughter back there with defeated eyes. Jaune with him as well, crushed and depressed from is failure.

But not anymore.

Sun seems to be distrusting in this situation, with good reason, but Jaune has come up with a theory. One that he shared with Kragen Nox when they first met him in the first place.

“The Relic of Creation...they must have used that Relic to bring her back to life so then they could...use her skills.” He theorises on the spot on the possible explanation of what is happening right now. The Creation Relic was the one that Mistral Harboured once, and Knowledge was taken from Ozpin’s Cane. Both of which they still have in their hands at Salem’s Sanctum. And Choice is at the Volcanic Chain Isles, and Destruction is buried somewhere in Atlas where it can be kept safe. And with Jacque Schnee, Darren Ortega and the Acolytes of Lien controlling the Kingdom, the odds are not in their favour. Sun sighs, shaking his head.

“How are you feeling, Jaune? This – this can’t be easy to take in.” Blake presumes, her hand on her shoulder where a bandage has been strapped on along with an icepack. Her wound is healing up nicely; hopefully the same can be said for Yang and Kassius, especially Yang from her encounter with the Spectre. Jaune sighs, his head still down at the floor as he walks with them.

“I don’t know...part of me is – I don’t think words can describe how happy it makes me to see her face again – but at the same time I am afraid. She never had orange eyes, they were always green.” He explains, stopping at turning to his two friends. Sun crosses his arms behind his head and lean against the wall. Blake stands on the other side of the hall with one leg bent back and her heel pressed against the wall, looking at him.

“You think one of them used that Relic to control her? We have no clue of how much power those things might have. If they are even nearly as powerful as Qrow has been telling us, then who’s to say that they cannot manipulate someone into controlling them?” Sun suggests, waving his hands around as he explains each possible scenario.

“That’s what I am worried about.” Jaune agrees. Sun smiles and he walks over to his friend, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Well, no matter what. I’ve gotcha back, pal.” Sun promises, nodding and then walking away. Blake smiles and she wraps her arms around him, and he hugs her as well.

“All of us will. We’re family.” Blake says tenderly, walking away from Jaune and following her boyfriend. Jaune smiles back and then he stands by the wall for a couple of moments. All that rattles in that brain of his is what Pyrrha claimed her name to be. _Death_.

_Did Death do this? Did he bring her back from the land of the fallen to serve him? Call herself by his title?_

He is never going to find such answers from just standing around like a lemon. He sheathes his sword finally, and then he walks away. Dropping something that he was carrying the whole time. The voice changer and mouth protector of the Onyx Phantom. Not like she needs it anymore, for the shroud of the Phantom has been destroyed once and for all. They may not realise it yet, but the Onyx Phantom was truly two individuals. Pyrrha Nikos and Neopolitan.

Jaune enters the main hall of the structure and he looks around. Everyone has returned, Qrow is already drinking more alcohol to treat his pounding headache that he is suffering from right now. Fear did ravage with his brain when he continuously sprayed that toxin into his body like that. A lucky moment for Qrow that it did not kill him. Many people are being treated right now in the medical bay. So Jaune decides to check in on them. He has not seen Nora or Ren since they returned after the Battle of the Library. He paces through and then looks through the glass window at the many beds inside where they are all asleep. Yang is asleep still with a steady pulse, her face swollen and badly bruised from her encounter with the Spectre. Kassius has not left her side, holding her hand. His arm has already been repaired, the tools on the desk beside him and the oils to make it work properly. Ren is awake and has some bruises on his face as well. He is talking to Nora who is looking right into his eyes with a smile. Magnhild and Stormflower let against each other in the corner. Jaune smiles and he walks inside, looking at the two friends who have been injured from their endeavours. Kassius looks up at him and he walks over to him. “Did you stop her?” Kassius asks quickly and he looks at him. He then realises something that worries him. They still have no idea about Neo still being alive and in fact being the Onyx Phantom. It is even more likely that Neo was responsible for the deaths of his team months ago. And clearly that is why he is asking him this, in such a sudden way.

“Yeah.” Jaune answers, and his protective nature over Pyrrha is making him say things that even he does not know if they are true or not. But his love for Pyrrha is enough to make him say these things.

 “We don’t know who she is, I think she was another Assassin like the Spectre.” Jaune fabricates and Kassius stands there, leaving Jaune the mystery to figure out if Kassius bought the lie or not. Kassius just nods and then he sits down next to Yang, holding her hand again, waiting for her to wake back up. Everything that happened down there has completely amazed them all beyond belief. Jaune can feel it all around him. He walks over to Ren and Nora and he smiles. “Hey, guys!” He says, putting his sword and shield down beside their weapons and he pulls a chair over to Ren and he looks at him. He can see the slash marks through his clothes where it attacked him. He looks at them and then at Nora who is looking...guilty. “What happened over there?” He asks, after hearing about all the things that happened. Nora sighs, closing her eyes sadly. She has never told them about the Lord of the Wood and the curse that it is bound to her through.

“Do you remember that time back at Beacon when we went out into the Emerald Forest for a picnic with Pyrrha on her birthday?” Nora asks, bringing a past memory up. Jaune looks at her and then he nods.

“Yeah, of course. You managed to make her laugh so much that soda came out her nose.” He chuckles, remembering hearing Pyrrha snorting with laughter, tears streaming from her eyes as the soda went through her head. She described it as her nose was on fire, and it was the hardest they have ever seen Ren laugh in the months they had known each other at the time. That all happened a month before the Vytal Festival began. Many moments have happened in between that time, or during that time that Team R.W.B.Y had no idea of at the time. Nora begins to twiddle nervously with her fingers, uncertain of how they are going to take this news. But Ren holds her hand gently, calming her and bringing a smile to her face.

“Ever heard of the Guardians of the Timberland?” Nora asks him, getting closer to Ren as she holds him. Jaune thinks through his mind, and he does faintly remember hearing about the tales.

“I think I had a book of it once.” He recites, and then he starts to refer to it with ease. “Yeah, the Guards of the trees. Any who would harm their territory would suffer their wrath, and they defend all who respect them.” He remembers, seeing the childish scrawls of the Guardians, of what they were once believed to be. “Why?”

Nora sighs, knowing that she must tell the story of what happened to her parents again. She never likes telling it to people, not because of how personal it is, but she fears the Lord of the Wood knowing of their presence as well. “Well, funnily enough...it’s not just a story.” Nora begins, and then she pulls her shirt down slightly to show him the mark above her breast. The scarred print.

_Those who shatter thy marks, will be marked with my print for the rest of their lives...until their souls belong to me._

Jaune gasps, remembering seeing those words in his little book. Allegedly, according to legend, the words here are from a Leshen that stated this very thing. A warning to anyone who dares touch the Totems that they build will be punished with a Leshen that will hunt them forever. He looks at Nora and she returns her shirt to normal, remaining where she sits with a heavy sigh. “It happened to me when I was a kid.” She explains and Jaune is flabbergasted. Kassius is listening as well across the way from her. He has not even noticed that Yang’s eyes are about to open slowly, she looks at Nora as well, listening to what she is saying. “My parents and I...they were merchants, and we were out in the woods and we stopped off to make camp. I heard crows cawing at night, and that usually never happens because they are asleep at that point.” She illustrates and Jaune listens to every word that she says. “I was so stupid.” She snarls at herself.

“No you weren’t, you were young and curious. Everyone is at that age.” Ren says, hoping to make her feel better, but it doesn’t.

“No child makes a mistake this bad.” She sighs. She then continues her tale to Jaune so then he knows the full truth. “I followed them and I found an old totem and I...I just poked it. And the whole thing collapsed. Then I saw him – the Lord of the Wood. A Leshen, it is so massive that I felt as small as an Ant. It tried to kill me but my parents tried to save me. Only getting themselves killed as well. I ran for days, nearly a week...then I found Kuroyuri...and Ren.” She says with a smile, looking directly into his eyes and he smiles as well. Their bond is even stronger than Jaune ever realised. Both have been suffering from revenge over a Creature of Grimm that murdered their parents when they were children. Ren had the Nuckelavee, Nora has the Leshen. Only the Leshen remains, and it will be harder to take down than the Nuckelavee.

Like the Knights, it is infinite...as long as she is alive, the Leshen cannot be killed. Unless they can find another way to lift the curse without Nora having to die.

“And it was there when Kuroyuri fell as well. It killed the boys that bullied me when Ren first saw me and then it came after us when we ran. I can’t escape it...I didn’t see it for years when I was with Ren, even at Beacon...until that day.” She explains, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. She remembers the sight of the Buck Skull and the burning red eyes that met her cyan coloured ones. The silence of the monster and the slow movements make it so nightmarish to her. Someone so energetic, bouncy and fun to be bound by something so silent, cold and calm. “When we were out there, I went out to go pee...and I saw it in the woods.” She explains. “Staring straight at me, and then it made its way towards me...but the closer I got to you three...it slowed down and then returned back.” She explains. Jaune’s eyes widen with realisation now.

“That’s why you said we should return! It seemed weird that you wanted us to go back to Beacon after that...” Jaune remembers with shock, like a mystery has finally been solved in his life. It seems this is the time of secrets being revealed at the moment. 

“Yes...” Nora agrees, shyly looking away from Jaune, at the floor mostly. Kassius looks back down and then Yang turns her head to look at him with a smile. He gasps with happiness, instantly wrapping his arms around her, and the three of them look at the heart warming reunification beside them. Nora looks at Jaune, hoping he is not mad at her for keeping a secret from him. “So – what do you think?” She asks him timidly. He looks at her and exhales through his nostrils.

“It’s still after you?” Jaune asks her.

“It won’t stop...not whilst I live.” She explains.

“It did this to Ren?” Jaune adds.

“Yes.” Nora nods. Jaune looks at Crocea Mors and then he picks it up.

“Then we will find a way to lift that curse and kill that thing once and for all.”

 

**Oscar**

Oscar sits there with a large map splayed out in front of him and he has a red marker pen. He thinks back on what he saw when Time sent him back there and Qrow walks over to him, coughing from his injuries from Fear. Raven stands with him along with Kragen Nox. They have all returned back to the fortress, time is out now. And now that they have the best lead on Ruby, they need to make plans on how to get there as fast as they can. “You mean to tell us you were taken to Arkhonex? All those years ago?” Kragen questions with disbelief in his voice.

“Yeah, forgive me but I don’t really find that believable.” Raven scoffs, shrugging her shoulders as she stands there with her arms crossed.

“Trust me, I am telling the honest truth. I was in the middle of talking to Blake and Sun, and then time stopped. I thought it might have been my semblance but –” Qrow interrupts him. Qrow drags a chair out and he sits down, setting his flask of alcohol down on the table and he looks at the boy

“Hang on! How the hell did you even get here?” He questions, since most of them have been away for that. Oscar must be tired of telling the tale, but there is always one more individual who has no idea.

“In short? My semblance allows me to control time, Ruby and I tried to escape, Hazel Rainart helped me get out, Yang and Kassius took me here, and here we are.” He sums up for Qrow, and Qrow just nods and leans back in his chair. “Anyway, this thing took me. I don’t think that it was human because it was wearing this armour made out of clock cogs and didn’t sound like a person. It called itself Time, but it never described itself as a Knight. It only stated that it served Remnant, and that something called the Shivering Dominion is coming. The End of Time itself.” He reveals to them all and their eyes widen. As he explains, Kragen scratches his beard and they all turn and look at him.

“Time...” He whispers to himself.

“You know of it?” Raven asks him.

“He was the one I saw when I nearly got the Visionary Book and he destroyed it. Seems he gave the information to you.” Kragen answers.

“What about the Shivering Dominion?” Qrow asks.

“I’ve heard tales of the Final Day, but I never believed in it.” Kragen states.

“I’ve seen it. I saw Beacon, encased in ice and all life was frozen in one moment. Grimm, Humans and Faunus alike. Nothing moved, not even the air moved. I was the only thing that could move, apart from Time.” He explains to them and they are shocked from what they are hearing. Oscar leans over to them on the table and looks at the three of them. “But Time showed me stuff at Arkhonex, and I got aboard a ship that was headed to those Islands, with _you_ aboard it.” Oscar states, pointing straight at Kragen, and they both look at him again and Kragen quickly remembers it.

“You’ve been there before?” Qrow questions.

“Look, I am thousands of years old, alright? I can’t remember every single moment of my life, I’m an old man now.” He says with a sigh, shaking his head. They both seem to agree with that logic and they shake it off and they listen to Oscar again.

He points at the point beside the city of Mistral, one of the mountains.

“We’re here...” He begins and Oscar circles it. Oscar begins to draw across the map towards the blank slate of the ocean where he remembers seeing the island on the map and then he circles that exact point, remembering it exactly for them. “That is where the Islands are!” Oscar tells them, setting the red marker pen down on the wooden table. Raven presses her hands against the table, looking at the map carefully with those large red eyes of hers. She points at the blank area of ocean and then at Oscar.

“Are you sure? There’s nothing there.” She points out.

“No one has discovered it since Arkhonex, the Storm Barrier must have destroyed anything before they could have gotten close and the satellites must be unable to see it because of the storm clouds above it as well.” Oscar interprets when he looks at the map, and when they look closer, there are the markings of what looks like storm clouds above the ocean. Raven chuckles, legitimately impressed with this information he has acquired from the past.

“So we know _where_ to go, now we just need to figure out _how_ to get there.” Qrow explains, rubbing his aching head with his wrist with annoyance.

“We’ll need a craft of some kind, one fast enough to catch up to whatever is taking Ruby. It must be a ship that belongs to the Acolytes, the only way they can get their own forces there along with the Knights.” Raven suggests as she paces back and forth, scratching the back of her head. Oscar sits back and he starts to think to himself. He has not mentioned Vir Nominis Umbra or Cynthia as of yet, however it is not important in finding Ruby. He just helped make it possible.

In his own sick way.

Qrow sits there and he sighs. “The barrier must be lethal if nothing has gotten through it, we’re gonna need something fast.” He says.

“The storm itself should be weaker inside the wall itself, the wall is what we have to worry about.” Kragen says, thinking back on Arkhonex Technology.

“Can we go over the storm?” Raven suggests.

Kragen shakes his head and then his memory of the Storm Barrier Technology seems to return at full strength. “No, the Barrier is essentially a shield dome, the inside of it is that of a normal storm, something we can survive in. But the wall itself is just as powerful and it will shred anything that goes through.” Kragen expounds and Raven sighs with annoyance, another possibility in the drain. Until Oscar thinks of something ingenious.

“What about under?” Oscar inquires and the three of them fall silent and they look at Oscar. Oscar notices the eyes of Kragen widen with anamnesis in those Silver Irises and he even gasps. “What is it?”

“Of course! I remember now! The Dauntless was an Advanced Instalment of the Ships, it could generate a shield dome around the vessel and transform into a submarine. Vex formed the Storm Barrier in the first place, that’s how nobody was able to catch him because he used a similar version of the ship design. We went under the ocean surface and we sailed under the storm wall. It was difficult though.” He divulges through memory.

“Why?” Raven asks.

“Due to the concentration of Grimm there. We lost many hands and nearly lost the ship. Massive Grimm, monsters we have never seen before. Same on the islands themselves, beasts unknown to man. Probably still to this day, protecting the Islands themselves. They were not like Normal Grimm.” Kragen explains and Qrow groans.

“It’s never easy, is it?” He sighs.

“It’s going to be a Suicide Mission, going there. You realise that, right?” Kragen asks them all. Qrow stands up and looks at Kragen.

“I will die for my baby girl if I must.” Qrow assures and Kragen smiles, hand on Qrow’s shoulder.

“And that’s why I like you, Qrow. You are willing to do what has to be done.” He chuckles. As always, Raven is the one to throw the conversation back on track.

“So we need to find and steal a Submarine?” Raven asks.

“It seems so, Atlas sounds like the best place to start. They have everything.” Oscar chuckles.

“You may be right. We need to think this through, though. Every aspect we can.” She says.

Qrow sighs. “I just wish we had more help.” Qrow states. Qrow stands there and he goes to take a drink from his flask, but nothing comes out. Just air. He looks in it with one eye and he sighs.

“I’ll be back, heading to the bar to get a refill.” He says, walking away from the table.

“Don’t get too drunk.” Raven begs.

“Too late.”

 

**Qrow**

Qrow stumbles through the dark halls of the H.Q and he approaches the bar that belongs to a White Fang Faunus Soldier, still wearing the mask. He is cleaning a mug and he offers the flask to him. The soldier nods and he immediately goes over to the Whiskey. He remains stood at the bar, waiting for the drink to be filled up so he can go back. His head is still in pain, but he is about to have a worse migraine. “Qrow Branwen! Over here!” A man calls, and Qrow looks in the direction he heard the voice. He sees a man sat at a table, like the others in here, he seems to be enjoying some food. A tomato soup and he sips it with a wooden spoon. He wipes his lips, and a smirk appears on his face. His bald head resembles that of someone that Oscar has met before.

Vir Nominis Umbra.

He has appeared once again.

Qrow’s eyes narrow when he sees him and then the flask is set down beside him. He takes it and looks at the White Fang Soldier. “Thanks.” Qrow says, walking away, he looks at Vir Nominis Umbra and he sighs, deciding to ignore him and he goes to walk off.

“Going to find her over there?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks snidely and Qrow stops, his eyes widen and he looks at the Soothsayer again with bewildered eyes as he looks at him. Now he has to go speak to him, already getting the feeling that he is no ordinary merchant from his appearance. Qrow walks over to him and he pulls a seat out and sits down parallel to the Soothsayer.

“How do you know I’m looking for someone?” Qrow questions suspiciously, but Vir Nominis Umbra is no fool, he can twist words as easily as he pleases.

“It seems to be the current theme at the moment.” He chuckles as he sits there.

“Well I’m not just looking for any old person. She’s young, black and red hair, silver eyes. Seen her?” Qrow asks him.

Vir Nominis Umbra looks over at the White Fang Bartender. “Two Vodkas! Ha, it’ll lift your spirits.” Vir Nominis Umbra says to him with a wink. And yet he seems to be the only person who is not fooled, due to experience most likely.

“I like the one I have.” He states, and Umbra looks at the flask. He shrugs his shoulders and sighs.

“Well, more for me I guess.” Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles, still smirking away as he seems to always do.

“Can we cut to the chase? Have you seen her or not?” Qrow asks him, completely unaware of how dangerous this man could be if you get on his bad side, or make the wrong wish and suffer horrific consequences because of it. And yet, the Soothsayer answers his question.

“Ruby Rose of Patch?” Vir Nominis Umbra guesses. A waiter walks over with two mugs of Vodka and he takes them both with a smile on his face, checking out the female waiter as well. Showing the lust that he can show in people. Qrow looks at the Soothsayer, even more suspicious of him now.

“Don’t ever remember mentioning her name.” Qrow points out, his eyes still narrowed.

“Yet you described her perfectly. And once I hear something, I never forget it. Bad habit of mine.” He chuckles, moving his hand across the table.

“How do you know about her?” Qrow questions, as a father would about his daughter.

“What a smashing question! From all the majestic tales of her, the youngest Silver Eyed Warrior, the Nuckelavee Slayer, and the Medusa of Dragons!” He lists with a laugh. “People like that are the only way that humble merchants like I get to rub up against greatness.” He explains to Qrow, listing her greatest achievements. “That is, of course, said merchant is as lucky as I am.” He says, looking straight at Qrow.

Qrow clenches his hand into a fist and sets it down on the table, not too hard to cause a scene but hard enough to put his point across. “And runs into a _very_ impatient Huntsman?” He adds to his explanation.

“Into Qrow Branwen himself! The Legend of Beacon.” He chuckles with a smile on his face.

“Recognise me from all the stories too?” He presumes. Vir Nominis Umbra picks up the mug of vodka and drinks out of it like it is actually water, not even affected by it in the slightest.

“To your health.” He says, referencing the state of his liver. Qrow leans back into the spine of his chair.

“What do you do? Who are you?” Qrow asks.

“Oh! Where are my manners?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks. He stands up and Qrow remains seated. “A mangy Soothsayer and Merchant, Vir Nominis Umbra, at your service.” He greets, bowing before the Huntsman, smiling away, and then he returns to his seat. People look at Vir Nominis Umbra and some of them smile at him as he bows like that. Other seem to think that he did not notice.

But he did.

“A soothsayer, huh?” Qrow chuckles, not a believer in such things anymore.

“Indeed, once a man that hid in the shadows of greater men, but through shadows I became stronger and I was able to become a master of my trade. Even dubbed me Man of Shadows at times.” Vir Nominis Umbra says to Qrow.

_Man of Shadows._

Qrow then decides to move this onto the subject at hand. “You saw Ruby?” Qrow asks.

“Deepest apologies, but I must ask – is this about love?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks, beginning to play that manipulative game of his once again. He looks at him, so he decides to test him at this game of his. As stated before, Qrow is no fool.

“You’re a Soothsayer? You tell me.” Qrow challenges, and Vir Nominis Umbra smirks menacingly, and he looks into his eyes. Qrow looks at his irises, and he notices something that nobody else has. His irises are black, but when light reflects off them, they turn red for a moment.

“Your beloved daughter, whom believes you are her dear uncle. Her mother and you were betrothed to one another and you happened to get her killed because of your semblance, and she did not want her daughter to have confusion in her life. So she asked you to remain as her uncle, lying to her.” Vir Nominis Umbra reads out, but he stops him before he goes any further, bringing back too many bad memories.

“Alright, enough.” Qrow orders, shaking his head. “You’re not lying then.” He shakes off.

“I knew it at once!” Vir Nominis Umbra chuckles, Qrow closes his eyes to get the bad memories out, and then he looks at Umbra again, who is still sat there.

“What do you know, tell me.” Qrow demands. Vir Nominis Umbra drinks more from his tankard and he respires.

“As you wish.” He says. “They are beginning to take her to the Volcanic Chain Isles right now, the Admiral of the Acolytes of Lien is on his way to her majesty’s Sanctum right now in his ship, called The Drift of Wandering Star.” Vir Nominis Umbra explains to him.

“When will they leave?” Qrow asks him, but Vir Nominis Umbra laughs.

“I’m not omniscient.” He lies with a smile. “If I were you, however, I would get a shift on. Time is running out.” He says to Qrow with a smile on his face. Qrow nods his head up and down.

“Thanks.” He says to Vir Nominis Umbra. The Soothsayer stands back up, looking down at the Branwen. He smiles as he stands there.

“We men of the road must stick together. Perhaps one day I will be in need, and you will be there to help.” He says, walking past him. Qrow turns to watch him leave.

But he vanishes.

As mysteriously as he arrived.

But without Qrow even realising it, Vir Nominis Umbra may have just granted him that wish he made.

 

**Willow**

Amidst the chaos happening across the world from her, Willow walks with Klein. Klein is helping the mother of Weiss Schnee speak to President Thaddeus Brimstone about the situation with her corrupt husband and the Mercenary Presence in her household. Klein walks normally to prevent arousing suspicion, while Willow walks with a formal stature, elegance and grace shown across her body as she moves alongside him. He holds the tray in one hand by his head as he approaches the building of which the president is currently speaking to other Councilmen in the Schnee Estate. There are soldiers patrolling the gardens of the Residence, but it is hard to tell if they’re truly Atlesian Military or disguised Acolytes of Lien. No matter what, however, they are all carrying firearms and are wearing the same armours as they would usually wear.

Klein walks up the steps and then clears his throat, knocking on the door with his free hand. As he does it, a younger voice makes the woman jump. “Hello mother.” Whitley greets, and she turns round, seeing her son there. She exhales to calm herself down and then she looks at her son who has that annoyingly gleeful smile on his face.

“Hello, son.” Willow replies with a smile.

“What are you doing out here? I normally see you in the gardens, drinking.” Whitley states, a harsh stab at his mother’s health as well. Her eyes narrow, and she wants to discipline him for that. But at the same time, she is afraid to, the amount of eyes on the scene right now. If she even lifted a finger against him, in front of the soldiers that they are paying, they would gun her down. She hates that she knows that her son is the enemy, what she would give to turn him around in the right direction. So then he can see his father for who he has truly become, or what he has always been. A man that will sacrifice anything and anyone to win.

“Well, I felt like a walk. Klein was kind enough to come with me.” Willow explains with a smile on her face. Whitley pouts his lips and then he walks around, with a skip in his step, looking around the plain white landscape. Polished and gleaming in the Atlesian light. He looks up at the cloudless skies of Atlas.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Whitley asks her with a simper. Klein looks at Whitley, he is no fool, he knows that the boy is edging his way towards something. He is just like his father, any socialisation he attempts has only one interest on his mind. What he can get out of someone for doing so, he has learned a lot from his father. Willow looks up at the perfect skies, seeing a couple of Atlesian Vessels flying overhead at times.

“Indeed it is, so serene and peaceful.” She remarks. Whitley then looks at his mother and he stands there.

“Strange – how at one moment you were doing nothing more than just drinking your life away in the garden. Now suddenly you have been up to no good...what are you doing, mother?” Whitley interrogates, taking a stride towards her, staring her in the eyes. Carrying the same irises of her mother and sisters. He tilts his head as he glares at her.

“Whitley...” She tries to speak.

But before he can even try to threaten her, Klein suddenly slaps Whitley across the face, creating an extremely girly screech to erupt out of him and he staggers away from his mother. Willow looks at Klein with disbelief, she has never expected to see Klein act in such a way. Seems he has learned a bit about discipline in his time serving this great family. “Apologise to your mother.” Klein demands and Whitley looks at the servant with anger. He does not even notice that the soldiers who are watching are actually chortling away at the scene. No need to do anything about it since he is in no danger whatsoever.

“How dare you!” Whitley growls with anger, only to meet the hand of Klein once more across his cheek with a loud clap. Another pathetic yelp emerges from him.

“If I hear anything but an apology, I’ll hit you again.” Klein states to Whitley and he scowls at him.

“I’m telling father!” He blubs.

Klein hits him again. “Tell him.” Klein says with a smile on his face, and Willow can’t help but smile slightly at how awesome Klein is being right now. “But before you do, you will tell your dearest mother here how very sorry you are.” Klein states, tilting his head as he stands there. None of the drinks and food have moved an inch from any of his slaps so far, which makes it that much more impressive.

“You can’t make – Ow!” Whitley bewails after being slapped for a fourth time by Klein and he does not even add another word, he just looks at him. Making his point extremely clear from how many times he has repeated it. Whitley frowns like a baby and then looks at his mother with tearful eyes. “I’m sorry.” He snivels and she smiles.

“Apology accepted.” She honourably says. Whitley turns and runs away, probably to go grovel to his father. Not something that either of them seems to be bothered by. One of the few things that Jacques cannot argue with is when a child of theirs is being punished for ill-behaviour. Willow gazes at Klein with amazement as he looks at her and she laughs with wonder in her eyes. “My, my – Klein, I never expected that from you.” Willow says with a smile.

“I can’t stand the boy sometimes. I’ve always liked Weiss and Winter, Weiss more. She was always the sweetest and politest of the three.” Klein truthfully states with the shrug of his shoulders. Willow walks with him as the door opens and they walk inside the building.

“I wish I could have done a better job with Whitley, I tried with my daughters...but...” She murmurs, the echoes of her heels clicking on the marble floors travel far through the beautiful place. Paintings of the Schnee Family are everywhere, mostly of her husband than of the actual Schnees themselves. She does not even look up at them, due to seeing his face everywhere, she feels like he is always watching her at all times.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Schnee.” Klein claims, looking at her. “You know that Jacques has only wanted a dynasty, and he would never want the fortune to go to a daughter who would be married off into another family. He has always feared his dynasty falling into the hands of a poor man instead of another businessman. And I know you have always wanted the best for your children.” He explains. “You are a good mother, Miss Schnee.” He says respectfully.

“Thank you, Klein. And please – it’s Willow.” She says kindly and he smiles.

“I know, Miss Schnee, but I am your servant. I shall never call you by your first name, it is not customary for someone with a heritage such as yours.” He states, setting the tray down on a table and then keeping his hands by his sides.

“You called me Willow once.” She remembers, back when she was still drinking. He stops and sighs, looking at her again.

“You were broken, if saying your true name would stop you drinking I would have to try and get through to you.” He states. “I know you, Miss Schnee, and I know when you need a push at times.” He says, walking away from her and to a door across the way from them. Willow sees him walking over to the room of which Brimstone is still inside of. He listens in and hears him speaking and he nods to Willow. She walks over to him and he knocks on the door, the conversation inside ends, and the door opens. A soldier is stood there with his hand near his pistol. This is definitely an Atlesian Guard from his posture, unlike the others that they have seen around the area. Brimstone is at the end of the table with his hands together, the other Board Members sat down. One is a Faunus, one that has been met before. Long black hair and serpent-like grey eyes. It’s Sienna Khan, speaking with the President.

_When did she get here?_

Willow has met Sienna Khan before, but never at Atlas. And never has she seen here at the Table of Board Members before. Things are indeed bizarre right now. “Madam Schnee, a pleasure to meet with you.” Thaddeus greets, and Sienna just smiles at her. Willow glances at Sienna, but then focuses on the President who stands before her. “We were in the middle of a meeting.” He says.

“I need to speak to you, sir, it’s important.” She says. Thaddeus leans back in his chair and then he looks at the soldier and nods at the soldier. The soldier stands back and then Thaddeus stands up.

“It seems we must continue this at another time.” He says to them all, and they all look at the President with what seems to be questionable expressions. But they cannot argue with him, his decision is final. Everyone but Sienna go, she remains there with her arms crossed and she looks at the woman as she sits there.

“Why are you here?” Willow inquires to the Leader of the White Fang.

“Because your daughters and their friends have been harbouring me. I feel I should at least help them as best as I can. They’ve no idea I am actually here right now.” Sienna explains, and Willow’s eyes widen with amazement and she takes a step towards her, gasping deeply.

“They’re okay? Where are they?” Willow begs, showing the true loving motherly side that she has hidden from many people behind countless glasses of wine. Sienna holds her hand up with a smile and she stands upwards to meet her in the eyes, taller than the Schnee is, but the same kind of slim build.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine. At least I think they are, they were fine when I last saw them. An ally there agreed to send me here through a portal, Brimstone knows of my plans here.” She explains, looking at President Thaddeus Brimstone. He stands there and then nods at the soldier stood there. The soldier nods as well and closes the door behind Klein after he enters. The soldier locks the door and then stands in front of the door.

“I already can guess why you are here. I can ready people like a book.” Thaddeus explains as he stands there. “I have noticed the presence of those damned Mercenaries, and there is no one better and paying people to do his dirty work than your husband. He is probably responsible for the imprisonment of the General, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do. He has managed to bribe the security and law forces of Atlas to the point of which he has more power than I do.” Thaddeus explains and Willow’s eyes widen with fear at his explanation.

“Does the title of President mean nothing?” She questions with disbelief.

“It seems that money really is the source of power, not respect anymore.” He sighs as he walks around.

“So what is this, then? Some sort of bunker?” Willow questions as she looks around, seeing the few soldiers in the room that he can actually trust.

“Not exactly. I have been speaking with Sienna Khan in private, and she has informed me that the allies she is working with may have a way to save Remnant from these – Knights of Grimm.” He explains off the top of his head.

Sienna nods and she raises up her watch and sends a message somewhere. On cue, a blue portal opens, the same ones that the Architect is capable of opening. The portal roars as it stands there, energy swirling round into a dark event horizon inside the singularity. “Come on, we can discuss it there.” Sienna casually tells Willow and Klein. Thaddeus picks up his computer and the three soldiers in the room stand beside him with their rifles at the ready. Willow is bewildered at what is going on.

She came here expecting to convince the President into helping, and yet he seems intent on doing so anyway. More so than she actually expected him to. Sienna walks into the portal and vanishes, leaving Willow astounded. She exhales, closing her eyes and then opening them. There is one thing on her mind.

Seeing her little girls again.

She walks towards the portal, and through the doorway, feeling the temperatures rising up in comparison to the icy cold air of the land of Atlas. She steps into the Headquarters that belong to Raven Branwen inside of that mountain by Mistral and she looks around, seeing the surviving rebels getting ready for something. Readying their weapons. The President follows behind her with her soldiers, and finally Klein. A simple Servant has just been shown things that he never expected to see.

She looks around as she stands there, and then she turns, and her heart fills with joy, tears leak from her eyes.

Weiss has just returned with Neptune, and beside here is Winter. They both stand at the other side of the room, their eyes looking straight at their mother. And for the first time in their lives, they are sharing the same expressions at once. Shock to see their mother here, looking them in the eyes. She smiles and her lip trembles as she walks towards them, but her two daughters run right to her arms and they both hug her tight. Willow cries with happiness, seeing them both alive here. Neptune stands where Weiss was and he smiles, seeing her so happy. At least she has a good mother and only a bad father. Willow checks her daughters for any wounds anyway. “Are you hurt?” She stammers, wiping tears from her eyes.

“We’re fine!” Weiss sniffles and then she looks over her shoulder at Klein as he smiles. Winter sees him and then she gasps.

“You’re the _Maestro_?” She asks him, remembering the message that she got from that name. Now she realises the truth, and Klein just smiles.

“You always did like that name for me.” Klein says and then she hugs him as well, towering above the short man, and Weiss hugs him as well. Klein is the closest thing to a father that either of them have ever had.

“I’m so glad you’re okay! I was terrified father would have hurt you for getting me out like that!” Weiss states to him.

“He knew, but he also knew that I knew a lot about him. So he decided to keep me alive, his mistake I guess.” He chuckles with a smile. Thaddeus walks with his soldiers and then he looks at the remnants of Mistral in the distance. His hand clenches into a fist with anger as he sees such a beautiful Kingdom destroyed, and left to gather dust like this.

“We will rebuild.” Thaddeus promises as he stands there. “But before we do.” He begins, turning to them all. Everyone has come into the room, including Yang who has Kassius helping her walk due to her concussion. They are all astounded to see President Thaddeus Brimstone here, of all places and of all times as well. “We must help your friend.” He says to them all and their eyes all widen with amazement. Qrow stands upwards, looking at him with amazed eyes at this.

“Never took you for a man to get his hands dirty, sir.” Qrow implies, taking a swig from his flask.

“Well – I shall not stand by and watch the world burn. Not like Jacques Schnee, I do not know who to trust back in Atlas. But here, at least...I know that I can share this information with you all.” He tells them. Oscar is still sat down, marking the map with what he saw when Time transported him to the Era of Arkhonex, marking the location of the Volcanic Chain Isles, where they shall be taking Ruby soon. Not entirely sure of when it will happen, but they all know it will happen soon.

Blake looks at Sienna Khan, never even noticing that she left in the first place, and then they notice that the Architect was indeed the one that opened that portal for her to get to Atlas. The Architect crosses his arms as he stands there. Kragen Nox enters the room with his staff in his hand, looking at the President as he stands there, and Thaddeus looks at the Silver Eyed Warrior. “By the gods...you are still alive?” He chuckles.

“Barely.” He replies. They all stand here at the ready, and then Qrow stands up, now up to date with the information he needed, he looks around. The wish has been completed and he stands tall. Qrow walks around and he knows that they need to set up a meeting. He walks over to Kragen who sees that he is walking around.

“What is it, Branwen?” Kragen asks him.

“Get everyone together, it’s time to get this all ready. I have received some intel on Ruby, we need to move as fast as we can.” He explains.

“We don’t even have a Submarine.” Kragen points out.

“I know, but hopefully Thaddeus could help. He’s the President.” Qrow says and Kragen nods. As a man who has been outside of the world for a long time, he has forgotten how powerful a man in politics can be. Kragen nods and he walks back to the others to round them up at the table. “And besides...I have some friends out here who might be able to help.” Qrow says to himself, holding a letter he wrote. He turns to a soldier and he gives it to him.

“Who’s this for?” The Soldier asks.

“Just take it to the address. They’ll understand.” Qrow asks. The soldier nods and he turns and forms a portal with his red blade, just like Raven can. He runs into it and vanishes.

 

**Qrow**

 

Qrow walks towards the table where everyone is sat at the table, Oscar at the end with the map at his hands. The rest of Team R.W.B.Y and J.N.P.R sat around the table as well. Thaddeus is leant against a pillar, Sun and Neptune are with their beloveds as well, hands on the table. Raven is sat down at the table with her sword on the wood and Winter behind her with her arms crossed. The Architect is sat down on the steps, legs crossed too. Adam is sharpening his red blade in the corner and Kassius beside Yang.

He smiles to them all, proud of all of them. “Thank you all for coming.” He begins to them all. “The Knights of Grimm are about to take Ruby to the Volcanic Chain Isles, and they are going to take that Relic and use it against us all.” Qrow explains.

“How do you even know that they’re going now?” Adam questions, looking in the direction of Qrow. He now has a new White Fang mask to cover his blinded eyes.

“I got some new information on Ruby.” He announces and they all look at him, Oscar’s head rises up from the map and he looks at her father. “I met this man in the tavern, he went by the name of Vir Nominis Umbra.” He begins and Oscar’s eyes widen and he gasps, standing up suddenly.

“Umbra?” He speaks up loudly and Qrow turns fast.

“You know him?” He asks.

“I met him in Arkhonex. He made it possible to get on the Dauntless...at his own evil pleasure.” Oscar explains and Qrow now feels better that he refused to drink with him, only to get information out of him. With all this happening here at once, the wish has definitely come true. Qrow quickly remembers to stay on subject, so he forgets about Umbra and he moves onto what he was told.

They are running out of time.

They need to prepare and leave for the Islands as fast as they can.

“He told me that Darren Ortega is going to get Ruby along with their forces and is on their way to the islands right now.” He explains. “Salem is going to get that Relic, the Relic of Choice. If she gets her hands on that, she could take control of all of us if she wanted to, taking choice away from the equation.” Qrow explains.

Thaddeus crosses his arms and he listens to every word. Sun nods after understanding this and then he looks at Qrow. “So what’s the plan?” Sun asks.

“There aren’t many of us, but after everything we have been through, I would trust you all with my life.” He begins, flattering them all with his words. “The Knights of Grimm are confident right now, the won at Mistral, but we have the element of surprise right now. We can hit them where it hurts and do some serious damage.” He explains.

“How do you propose we get past the storm barrier?” Kassius inquires with his arms crossed.

“We need to go under the wall, getting a submarine is our top priority. One that can fit all of us inside. We take a small team first and then when we shut the Storm Barrier down, we call in Raven’s Soldiers, White Fang and anything Brimstone has left from Atlas.” He explains. Thaddeus takes a step forward to add his own point.

“I may be a crap shot, but I can help you there. There is a decommissioned Tethys Submarine off the shores of Vale, used as a tourist attraction. If we’re lucky it is still there. It can easily fit you all inside.” Thaddeus suggests, pointing at the map, just outside the city is a beach town and there is an old museum there that holds this submarine. “It’s fast and the dust rounds are still inside, just shut down.” He explains.

“Isn’t that a little dangerous for a Tourist attraction?” Nora asks.

“Well it’s what we have.” Thaddeus says and Nora shrugs her shoulders in agreement.

“Kragen has told me that we will face lots of dangerous and unknown Grimm on both the islands and in the water, so we need to work together, as a team.” Qrow reminds them all and they all nod with agreement. “Once we get the Sub, we all will get inside and make our way there as fast as we can, and once we are on the land, we need to find where that Storm Barrier is being formed from.” Qrow explains.

“If my memory is not mistaken, Axzura Vex used a powerful tower in an old settlement that was built there. The settlement will still be there today, once we find the settlement, we will find the tower.” He explains. “It will take a lot of dust to shut that tower down and it will be explosive.” He warns.

“I have plenty of dust crystals, I can use them to destabilize the core.” Weiss suggests.

“As have I.” Blake agrees.

“Once the Barrier is down, Brimstone, Khan and Nox’s forces will charge in and will keep the resistance busy whilst we make our way to Ruby. Which will most likely be wherever that Relic is being held.” Qrow explains.

“Hopefully it will be inside somewhere strong, like one of the mountains in the area. Axzura Vex tended to store his trove inside of one of the mountains. It might be inside there somewhere.” Kragen explains to them.

“Big Mountain – check, Big Tower – check, Big Island – check.” Yang says to them with a smile, rubbing the bruises on her face. They have already started to fade thanks to her aura and the medical equipment.

“Another point with destroying the Tower, the blast will alert the Knights and they will begin hunting for us all.” He warns.

“We should prepare some traps for them, hunt them down when they are searching for us.” Neptune suggests.

“Got our first volunteer for the hunting party, I’m the second.” Qrow says, pointing his thumb at his chest.

“Count me in, too.” Adam says to him, looking up, scraping the sharpening stone across his red blade. “Always believed attack was always the best defence.” Adam says to Qrow.

“What about the rest of us?” Blake asks him.

“Stay with us, we’re gonna need all of us if we are to win this thing.” Qrow explains.

“The Knights are not going to be our only issue. Salem is likely to bring that damn Dragon with her as well. That thing’ll bring more Grimm with it as well, so we need to keep our eyes on the skies.” Raven warns with her explanation, the roar echoes in their memories. “We can use explosives on them as well as the Knights.”

Kragen turns to the Architect. “Architect can make us powerful dust bombs, remember the blueprints?” Kragen asks him.

“Of course.” The Architect responds.

“Excellent, Nora’s Grenade Launcher will be useful in that regard as well.” Raven says, making Nora smirk, holding Magnhild close.  Qrow stands tall and he prepares to bring the plan to a close.

“I can also use my Semblance to take out anything in fast moments. It works against the other Knights except Death, so he will be able to see me when I stop time.” Oscar explains.

“We’ve gotcha back.” Jaune assures.

“Ruby is most important in all of this. Her usefulness for Salem will run its course after she opens the Storm Barrier for the Drift of Wandering Star and the other Acolyte Ships.” Qrow explains. “We need to make sure we get her back.” Qrow says.

“Remember, there’s only a few of us when we get inside. We have to cover each other, eyes everywhere until the storm is down.” Qrow reminds everyone. They all stand up, ready to fight.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Yang asks them. “Let’s get that Submarine and get my sister back!”

 

**Ruby**

Ruby sits there in her cell, tired of waiting. She then hears someone approaching and she turns her head with wide eyes.

Salem stands there with Tyrian behind her like a loyal dog, and possessed Pyrrha as well, her eyes glowing orange as she stares at Ruby. She is wearing familiar but different armour. Similar to her old armour, but black with gold linings and markings. It covers her whole body but her head, along with a pair of red sashes tied round her collar, blowing behind her along with her waist one. She has a new Milo and Akuou too, same colours.

Ruby looks straight at Salem and she opens the door.

“Your Destiny has come.”


	40. The Tethys

**Ruby**

Ruby is pulled from her cell by Watts who has returned back to the Sanctum, and he pushes her forward with the barrel of his gun. She looks back at the tall gentleman and he scowls at her and pushes her forward. “Keep moving, girl!” Watts demands and Ruby stumbles forward. She feels the round bruise mark form from where the barrel has been smacked against her back with force. She keeps moving and follows Salem who is at the front, and Tyrian beside Ruby, looking at her with his tail arched up by his shoulder. Ruby looks around the Sanctum as she is forced out, the forces here are shipping out, and the massive Dragon walks across the barren land. It roars stridently to the skies, spreading its huge black wings out and swinging them downwards to lift itself into the sky. It glides across the never ending night sky, blocking the Fractured Moon out at points. The black titan of smoke roars constantly as it flies overhead, Ruby watches it as it moves.

She froze it, and for what? Now it is flying around once more.

The doors open and she sees the other prisoners on the ground, executed, blood pooling out and trickling down the rocks and into the crystals. The Purple Dust seems to feed off blood, as they glow brighter when the crimson liquid touches the surface of the crystals that protrude from the rocks. Their bodies are just being left here in that pile to be forgotten. Fury stands beside the corpses with his axes in his hands; he did the job of taking their lives. Somewhere Silver Eyed Warriors, others were just survivors from Mistral. Now they all fall into the same group in their mass grave. “You wish to prove yourself, Miss Rose?” Salem asks her, looking back at Ruby for a moment, Ruby glares at the pale woman with her furious silver eye.

“I don’t need to prove anything to _you_.” Ruby growls with anger, tensing, but her snap seems to insult Watts more than Salem. Tyrian’s head snaps towards her with anger in his yellow eyes, his blades extending. He wants to kill her so badly, but his allegiance to his queen is preventing him from doing so. Watts kicks Ruby forward and she yelps with pain to her spine from the impact.

“Show some respect!” Watts barks, like the loyal dog that he is to her. As always, Ruby does not seem to learn from any of this punishment. She just has to have a comeback in this situation.

“Good dog.” She smirks at him and Watts grits his teeth with anger, clenching his hand into a fist and he goes to punch her. Suddenly the hand of Hazel catches onto his wrist and he stops him from striking the young girl. Watts looks up at the muscular man and he backs up from him, Hazel looks at Ruby but he does not smile. Despite how much he wants to, so then she knows that she does still have a friend here. To prevent them from catching onto a potential betrayal from Hazel, Ruby just looks away from him and keeps on walking. Watts follows the line as they approach something gigantic that has arrived.

The Drift of Wandering Star. The huge Atlesian-Class Vessel that the Acolytes of Lien stole, and Darren Ortega has been commanding this whole time. Painted black and red and gold, it is one impressive flagship for the fleet that they have amassed from Atlas. Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries stand at the entrance of the ship with their guns lowered as Salem approaches. Salem looks at them and she walks onto the ramp that enters the ship. Ruby looks down at the purplish black ground and the grey metal ramp that has come to take here away from this hellhole of a home she has had for the past few weeks. Although it has felt like it has been longer, like years. Ruby turns and she sees Roman skipping alongside her with glee in each step as he moves with her with a smile on his face. “Whoo-hoo! Free at last, thank Salem, we’re free at last!” Roman cheers happily as he claps his hands together. He looks at one of the soldiers and he waves his hand at his face as he looks at him.

Watts pushes Ruby forward and she steps onto the metal, and officially she is now somewhere else than just the land of her cell. A terrible place, but this ship is hardly going to be any better. Air conditioned and cleaner, maybe, but definitely not enjoyable. She is still trapped here with her enemies. She looks back and the Knights of Grimm follow, but they transform into their winged forms. Death erupts into black smoke that shifts into the dark Nevermore that howls as it glides across the sky. The skin robes that surround Fear stretch and spin round, the bones crack as they change as well and he morphs into the massive bat with glowing yellow eyes. Holes torn open in the wing membrane as he flies with Death. Loss is the most gentle of all, with a tiny puff of white smoke; she turns into a little dove that flies with them, dwarfed by her terrifying companions. Fury is the last one to transform, a cloud of fire extravasates around his body and the burning wyvern takes flight with the rest of his team. The Four Knights glide across the skies, following the Dragon ahead of the ship.

Ruby is forced up the steps towards the bridge of the ship and Salem walks over to the centre, her hands still behind her back. She stops and Watts grabs Ruby by her shoulder. At the front of the bridge is the Admiral, and he turns round with that smile on his face as he sees Salem with that prize he has been waiting to see for quite a while. This too is the first time that Ruby has met the Leader of the Acolytes of Lien. “Salem, I see it is time to go forward, I presume?” He says as he walks forward and Salem looks at him.

“Indeed it is, Admiral.” Salem announces proudly and Watts pushes Ruby towards him and he approaches the young girl who looks up at him. With so many enemies around her, they have no need to put shackles on her. She is smart enough to know that she has no chance of getting out of this. So she can only use her words against them, for she would never comply with her enemies. Ortega leans forward as he looks into the single eye of Ruby, seeing his own reflection in her big owl like eyes. He smirks as he looks at her, his scar contorting as that grin moves across his face.

“An honour to finally meet the Silver Eyed Girl in the flesh.” Ortega says. “I’m sure you can guess who I am.”

“General Ortega, I’m guessing?” Ruby responds, bending her head to the side curiously as she looks at him. His mouth crinkles as he smirks at her and then he rises back up, putting less strain on his back and he walks around the room. He looks at the woman in the corner of the room, the one that Ruby has not even noticed yet. Until he says her name.

“Neo, would you be a dear and put her in the cage?” Ortega requests, and upon hearing her name, both Ruby and Roman turn their heads, eyes wide. They see her walking out of the darkness, and there is hatred in her pink and brown eyes as she glares at Ruby, she must want to slit her throat for what happened to her beloved.

“Neo...” Roman softly whispers, walking towards her, reaching out for her. But his hand just goes straight through her. She does not even seem to notice, her eyebrows are rutted with choler through seeing Ruby stood there, whilst her beloved lies in an unmarked grave. She holds her Umbrella on her shoulder and then she walks towards Ruby, her heels clicking on the steel floor, meeting Ruby in the eyes. Ruby actually takes a step back out of fear from the woman that glares at her with pure animosity.

“Neo – I’m...” She stammers, but Neo grits her teeth with rage and punches her across the face, with force as well and Ruby nearly falls onto the ground from her dizziness. Nobody reacts, because they understand her anger towards the girl, and even Ruby cannot fault her for that. Because she is still quite responsible for his death, she may not have been the one to do the killing, but if she were never on that ship then he would have had no reason to go out there in the first place. Neo grasps Ruby by her long black and red hair, and yanks on it hard and drags her towards a cage that has been placed in the centre of the room. Like she is some kind of animal that needs to be locked up and guarded at all times. Neo throws her in and then she locks the door behind her, standing there and watching her with her big eyes. Roman stands behind her and he just wants to speak to her, so then she can hear him. He could always understand her just from the way she would look at him, whilst nobody else would bother.

The Admiral chuckles and then he pats the shoulder of one of his men. “Come on, gentlemen. Let us begin.” He says to them with a smirk on his face. The doors lock up and the thrusters blast outwards, lifting the vessel up in the sky. Pyrrha stands tall by the cell, not looking at Ruby, her eyes still glowing a fiery orange. Strange how with just the change of colour on her armour and weapons, she looks completely different, and far more threatening. Ruby gazes at the sash that is bound to her waist, seeing the mud on it.

It is the exact same sash that Jaune lost when he drew the Grimm away from her after the Fall of Mistral, the one that was left behind.

One of the Knights must have taken it.

Ruby then looks at the vengeful Neo who is staring at her, almost clawing at the metal bars that stand between her and her revenge.

Roman looks at her, caressing her cheek with his hand. “My heart will always be yours, Neo.” He whispers, before he fades away.

As he fades...

Neo sheds a tear.

Ruby looks past Neo and she sees Ortega turning to a projector as it shows a live feed of Professor Merlot, stood before him with his hands behind his back. He bows forward to him with a smile. “Any reports on the scouts you sent into the Storm Barrier?” Ortega asks him.

“None, sir – my Prototype however is very resilient. We can rely on it.” He assures.

_Prototype?_

_What prototype?_

 

**Weiss**

Weiss gets ready; they all know that they are getting into a Suicide Mission right now. The odds of survival in this mission are remote, there is a big chance that they may not survive the trip in the Submarine, due to the Grimm that are said to lurk down there in those waters. She turns after she loads the dust vials into Myrtenaster, and her large blue eyes gaze upon her betrothed Neptune. She can see his fearfulness of entering the ocean; he is scared of a simple puddle after what happened to his parents. Now he must get inside of a metal tube and enter the depths of the blue to find Ruby. He is holding his Trident in his hands, looking at the metal, the weapon he has come to name Trishula. He has loaded new magazines of dust into it, but he has not yet recovered from his fear. Weiss puts Myrtenaster down on the table and she walks over to Neptune, taking a seat beside him, even putting her hand on top of his to calm him. Her hands are not as cold as everyone would expect of from the Ice Queen. Her little smile makes tiny dimples on her cheeks as she looks at him. “It will be fine.” Weiss promises gently, almost whispering to him, holding his bicep with her other hand in her efforts to console him.

“I – I know...it’s just...” He stammers as he thinks about it. After what Fear showed him again, it has made the nightmares fresh once more. It is not the monsters of the deep that frighten him, it’s the water itself.

“...your fear.” Weiss answers for the poor struggling boy. He sighs, nodding his head and then looking at her with a smile. Of course that’s what is on his mind; he can’t get it out of his mind. He is worse than Blake is around water, and she is part cat!

“I can’t lose you too...” He says to her, honestly as well. He is truly spilling his guts of how much he loves the Schnee girl. Her heart warms and even flutters, and she moves towards his lips, her hand sliding across his cheek as she sets her lips onto his, closing her eyes as she embraces this romantic moment with him. She rests her forehead against his after the kiss is broken and he puts his arm round her back.

“Neither can I – so remember if it comes down to it...remember to duck.” She orders him. He smiles and he leans back.

“Yes, ma’am.” He assures. She stands back up, turning round when she sees Willow stood by the wall with that gleeful smile of happiness for her daughter finding someone she can be in love with in her life. Weiss stands up and walks over to her mother after she saw that.

“I always thought you were too focused on being a Huntress to worry about boys.” Willow remembers, and thus showing how she is the true parent here, unlike her father. She remembers the simplest statements of her daughter when she was much younger. Jacques probably only remembers the first check he ever gave her and that was it. She giggles and looks away from her mother out of nervousness. Willow looks at Neptune as he stands up, and he puts his new Black and Blue coat over his white shirt he has been wearing this whole time. The original clothes he wore back at Beacon were too small for his grown up body now. Willow looks at him and then at Weiss. “I like him.” She admits and Weiss looks at her like a shy little girl, her cheeks blushing.

“Shut up.” She shyly says, looking down at the floor, and Willow laughs. She admires her daughter, and then she wraps her arms around her, hugging her tight and kissing her cheek.

“Please be careful out there...” She begs. “I can’t lose you both.” She whispers.

“We will, mom – but we are not leaving Ruby behind. _I_ am not leaving her, I owe her everything. She helped me be a better person than I was when I left, showed me the better things in life than just what we were born to do. I want to return the favour.” Weiss explains to her mother, which makes Willow proud. She cups her daughter’s chin when she gives her a new message.

“And that is what being a Schnee is all about.” She tells her with a smile, and Weiss smiles back. Willow turns her head and sees Thaddeus stood waiting for her. They cannot stay at the bunker forever; people will begin to ask questions. “It’s time for me to go, honey – but please, be careful.” Willow asks. Weiss smiles.

“I will.” She promises. Willow reluctantly walks with Thaddeus and towards the portal that opens. She looks back and then gives her one last message.

“And kick the Knights of Grimm’s asses.” She adds with her smile and Weiss laughs, and she waves goodbye to her mother. The President and wife of Jacques enters the portal, and the Architect closes it behind them. He walks over to Weiss with his hands by his sides and then looks down at her. His glowing blue visor examining the features of her face, she looks much better than she did after the fall when Death nearly took her life.

Hopefully she can get some payback. “How are you, Miss Schnee?” The Architect asks her, still wearing his poncho.

“Better, at least I could see my mom again...she looks better.” She says to him and he nods, turning and walking away. “And Architect?” She calls, the tall mechanical man stops and turns to look at her.

“Yes, ma’am?” He asks.

“It’s Weiss.” She says to him, the metal brow moves up as he understands. He then nods as he walks back.

“Of course, Weiss.” He corrects, walking away from her and towards the hall.

Weiss turns when Neptune walks over to her shoulder and he looks down at the shorter girl. She walks after the Architect and he walks beside her towards everyone. Everyone is waiting, prepared to go and collect the Tethys. The Submarine ready to take them to the Volcanic Chain Isles. To go from Vale to the edge of Mistral will be a long journey to make; hopefully it’s a fast Submarine. Raven stands tall with her Odachi held in both her hands as she waits for them. She notices Weiss and then she lowers the red blade before them all. Yang looks over her shoulder, sat beside Blake who is reading her book. Kassius finishes up loading up new magazines into Vulcan Nox and he turns to see them. Sun spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers and he smiles, nodding at Neptune when he sees him there. He rests Trishula on his shoulder where he stands.

Jaune is with his team, and hopefully he can bring the fourth member back home to team J.N.P.R. Oscar now has a watch on his wrist to stop time at a better moment, building up his skills whilst he still can. Qrow walks out of the room after he has loaded up on his essentials and he holds his sword in one hand. “Everyone ready?” Qrow asks them all. Weiss draws Myrtenaster and she looks at Qrow, and she just nods at him. Everyone else stands up. Blake spins her katana through her fingers and Yang activates Ember Celica. The Architect holds his rifle in one hand and Kragen Nox walks alongside him with his staff in his hand, his eyes glow faintly. Adam walks over to the group with Wilt and Blush sheathed into his scabbard, looking in their direction. Nora holds Magnhild in both hands and Ren slides both Stormflower Pistols into his sleeves. Jaune draws Crocea Mors, the light gleaming across the sharp blade. Oscar stands upwards and he turns as Winter approaches with both her swords at the ready.

“Let’s get Ruby.” Weiss says to them all and Sun smiles.

“Amen to that.” He agrees, fist pumping.

Raven swings her sword across the air and forms the red portal behind her for them all to enter through. She walks through first and Qrow follows behind. They all walk through in a line, and Weiss is the last to walk through behind them all. She walks through, and she feels the warmth of the Valerian Beach. She walks out and looks around the area. Jaune observes the area, holding his sword tight as he stands there. He seems to recognise this place, and Weiss looks over at him. “You okay, Jaune?” She asks him. He sighs when he looks at one of the houses, strange to see the place so abandoned. Vale was completely evacuated after the Knights started attacking everywhere, especially after the Fall of Mistral. He looks over at the girl he once craved for, now at a friend.

“This was once my home.” He tells her, seeing the house that bares the Arc symbol on the side of it. He walks over to it, looking at it with a heavy sigh. They all respectfully give him a moment, but he of all people is the one to use his knowledge of the area to help them. “I know where to find the Tethys, it is nearby.” He assures them, walking ahead of them all, still holding his sword in his hand.

Yang jogs up to him to catch up as she looks at him. “Did you go to the Tethys a lot?” She asks him.

“Sometimes, yeah. Used to think about stuff there, like how I wanted to go to Beacon and...you know...stuff.” He explains with a smile. “My sisters also went with me as well, the younger ones tended to play over there.” He says, pointing at a playground with lots of climbing equipment for a little girl to enjoy. The marks of enjoyment still in the sand where children once played. Even the ghostly laughs where they should be can be heard, they may not be dead, but it is like a ghost town.

“This can’t be easy for you, Jaune.” Blake apologises to him as she walks by his other shoulder. He looks over to her with a smile, of all people she would understand if he lost his parents, his family. But he truly does not know, with the C.C.T down, he has heard nothing from his family. Absolutely nothing. So he does not know if they are alive or dead. He hopes however, that they got out in time.

“They might still be alive – I can hope.” He sighs as he walks; sadly Blake knows that she will never see her parents again. Fury took that from her when they first began to return, reducing Menagerie to ash. Adam walks with them, and he could feel the destruction, smell the burned wood and bodies. And all that rattled through him was that he never wanted that, he wanted humanity destroyed, maybe...but not Menagerie. He has now learned that he was fighting for the wrong side. He listens carefully for the sounds of Grimm; distant howls are heard from Beowulves that must be patrolling the area. Raven looks at a lonely sandcastle that a child must have made and she sighs.

Walking through a ghost town is not something that anyone would be able to forget, it would stick for them forever. The eerie feeling of that silence where people should be talking over each other, never seeing another face in the streets. It is not right, worse when you know where the place is. Jaune moves forward and then he sees the pier. “If I remember correctly...” He mumbles to himself, jumping upwards onto the wooden platform, clambering up on his search for the Vessel. He turns a corner and he sees it there. “It should be right...here.” He says when setting his eyes on the Tethys.

It is a smaller Submarine, but one that could fit them all inside. It is also fast, with four guns that fold out from the hull and can shoot dust projectiles underwater at anything that moves. It has three propellers at its rear end and it is quite rounded and bumpy, less of a tube than what they were expecting. Yang looks at the vessel with surprised eyes. “Huh...I imagined it...bigger.” She points out when she looks at it.

“Tell me about it.” Nora groans, hoping it see one of the ones the size of a football field. Kragen stands beside Nora and he points out an important fact.

“No, but this is exactly what we need. Plenty of space for everyone, most Submarines carry a couple hundred. This one can carry twenty and there are sixteen of us. It will get us there faster and stealthier. See? Size isn’t everything.” Kragen points out to her and he approaches it with the Architect. As a machine he can analyze the state that it is in for a further assessment. The Architect crouches down and he starts to scan the submarine with his visor.

“Okay then, let’s see what condition you’re in.” The Architect mutters to himself as he starts to scan the hull. A bright blue beam of light emerges from his optics and the ray of light passes up and down the hull as he makes his calculations. They wait a moment for him to do his thing, and Nora notices that Jaune is looking at something in the distance. There is something here that is rattling around in his mind. Qrow crouches down beside the Architect and he looks at him.

“How is it?” Qrow asks. “Will it get us to the Islands?” He wonders.

“Yeah, just needs powering up from that fuel pump.” The Architect tells them, rising back up as he points at the pump station nearby. The place was completely abandoned, hopefully it still works. Qrow and the Architect walk towards it, but Jaune is still gazing up at the hill. Nora touches his arm to get his attention, and he looks at her.

“Jaune? What’s on your mind?” Nora asks him.

He looks at her, and then at the hill. He sighs as he looks down at the floor, sheathing his sword. “I need to do something.” He tells them. He walks away from them all and makes his way towards the hill, and he rips a flower from the ground and walks with it. A beautiful rose, and he walks away from them all. Ren and Nora follow him up the hill, keeping him company whilst the rest of them wait.

 

**Jaune**

So peaceful, this place. No Grimm, only the occasional howl from miles away. Jaune walks his way up the long stone steps of the grassy green hill that is surrounded by tall trees that absorb the sun’s light. Nora and Ren walk with him, gazing across the stunning ocean of blue, and the clouds have completely parted. Just the endless canvas of blueness, pure beauty to look upon. Something that nobody can ever deny the artistry of it all. Jaune keeps on walking up the hill, and then they see what it was that Jaune was looking at. A beautiful lake sits at the top of this hill with strikingly colourful flowers surrounding the pool where little fish paddle. The trickles of water are so calming.

They both stop, and notice what he walks towards. A single grave by the water. He crouches down and sets the flower down on the grave and he rises back up, looking down at the grave. Ren stands beside him and he reads the name of who lays here.

_Skyler Arc_

_Aged Twenty Four_

Jaune’s oldest sister, who must have passed away recently. The flowers that have been placed here have not wilted away since they were set down. He stands up respectfully and they both look down. Jaune feels his heart pounding, and then his bottom lip trembles. Tears start to percolate from his blue eyes from sorrow of the loss of his beloved sister. The Arc Symbol engraved into the stone beneath her name. Nora and Ren remain silent, letting him have his moment here. Then Jaune actually says something. “At – At least she has water.” He stammers through the tears, they both turn and look at him when hearing him say that. Nora tilts her head.

“What does that mean?” Nora asks him curiously. He wipes the tears from his eyes as he looks down at her grave.

“An Old Arc saying.” Jaune answers. He closes his eyes, pushing the tears out from them where he stands. Now they understand why he came up here, if they could all die from this mission, all he wants is to say goodbye one more time to his eldest sister. “The Arcs always believed that – if one is buried by a lake, then their soul is guaranteed to pass onto Elysium.” Jaune stammers as he tells them about his family history. The lake is a beautiful sight, butterflies flutter past him and them as they hover across the lakes. One of them lands on her gravestone, a gorgeous butterfly. Oranges, reds and blues swirling together in the wings, flicking them every now and then as it peacefully walks across the stone. Nora holds his hand and rests her head on his shoulder and Ren puts his hand on his shoulder.

Jaune lowers his head to her and he pushes the blade of his sword down in the soil, near her burial as he pays his respects. “She was always my inspiration – the reason I wanted to be a Huntsman.” He explains to them nervously, and they both look at him, listening to him. “She would always tell me the stories of her time at Beacon, tales of the heroic things she did. She always helped me with my homework, wanted me to go there as well. The others never really bothered with it...but she always believed in me.” Jaune explains tearfully as he looks down at her grave, his tears dripping down into the grass.

He clenches his hand into a fist when he remembers the day he heard of her death. “It happened a few weeks before the Vytal Tournament; her funeral was a couple days before it started...” He begins. “They were out on a simple mission, but there was a huge concentration of Grimm there...they couldn’t hold them off. They were all going to die, but Skyler did not give up. She ordered her team to fall back, and she fought them all off...every last one.” He explains. He lifts his sword up and looks at the metal across the blade and he closes those eyes again. “She died from blood loss, because a White Fang Supporter wouldn’t treat her.” He coldly says with anger.

He looks at his own reflection. “She should have had this sword...not me.” He says, shaking his head and they both look at him.

“Don’t say that.” Nora tells him.

“It’s true! She was born to be a warrior, and to die a warrior’s death. Not bleeding out because some guy refused to tend to her wounds.” Jaune snarls with anger, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.

“Would she want you to think this way, Jaune?” Ren asks him and he stutters.

“I – I...” He stammers.

“No, she would want you to keep moving forward...just like we all have been.” Ren says, speaking of something more than just the hypothetical statement. He is talking of his parents and the Nuckelavee, Nora’s parents and the Lord of the Wood, Pyrrha and Cinder...no matter how much you lose...

...you keep moving forward.

No matter what.

For them.

Ren and Nora look at each other, and they agree to let him be with his sister’s grave for a time, in silence so then he can have a moment. He remains stood there, looking down at the grave.

He stands there for quite a while, nearly an hour passes. But the more he thinks on what Ren told him, a memory appears in his mind as he looks down at the grave. He hears her voice in his head...Pyrrha’s voice. Her tender voice speaking to him from a certain point in time, before the Vytal Tournament, after the funeral. He can still hear the church bells dinging faintly in his memory.

“I tried looking for you after...” Pyrrha states in his memory. He closes his eyes to visualise the memory, and it is like he is taken back to that time. His old armour over the Pumpkin Pete’s Hoodie that he wears all the time and the old Crocea Mors as well. “I wanted to be there for you at the funeral.” Pyrrha explains, she knew of it as well when nobody else actually did. Not even Ren or Nora. She walks down the hall to their dorm room with him as they go to sit down.

“I know, I’m sorry...I just kinda wanted to be alone.” Jaune confesses to Pyrrha, and as she always does, she understand.

“So how was it?” Pyrrha inquires.

“It was okay – at least she has water.” Jaune recites even then, and Pyrrha may not have understood the strength behind those words. Perhaps if he can get her back she will one day. They just have to find her first.

“I was gonna ask –” Before Pyrrha can finish her sentence, Jaune stops her, due to how well they know each other at this point.

“I know what you’re gonna say, Pyrrha...I just can’t today.” Jaune sighs as he walks over to the dorm room and he tries to open the door, but it’s locked and it won’t even budge.

“We can train on the roof again, it’ll be fun! I can help you take your mind off things, you always enjoyed it before.” Pyrrha suggests, turning and approaching the mat on the floor. She lifts it up and discovers that very key there and she picks it up, handing it over to Jaune. “Come on...” She begs with that smile of hers. Jaune holds the key and then he huffs, looking at her again.

“Thank you, Pyrrha...but I can handle this on my own.” He assures with a smile. Pyrrha shakes her head and sighs back.

“The thing is...you don’t have to.” Pyrrha tells him, holding his hand in hers. He remembers the warmth of her smooth hands on his and how she looked into his eyes longingly. If only he would have kissed her right then and there. “I’ll always be here for you Jaune.” She promises.

Jaune reopens his eyes, and he looks at his own reflection in the water. He hears the footsteps of someone approaching, and he turns his head slightly. He notices that it is Sun, and he looks at the grave. He looks at the name and then at Jaune who just looks out at the trees again. “I’m sorry, Jaune...I didn’t know.” Sun apologises.

“It’s fine.” Jaune assures. Sun then moves onto the thing that he wanted to speak to Jaune about in the first place, and Jaune already knew that was why he came up here as well. He knows Sun well now.

“She’s gonna be there, you know?” Sun warns.

“I know.” Jaune responds, still looking out at the lake.

“Look...the girl she used to be, the one we knew, and the person she has become now...I don’t think that she’s the kind you _save_...she’s the kind you _stop_.” Sun advises, always hoping to help Jaune out, keeping him informed on what he might have to do over there at the Volcanic Chain Islands. Jaune turns his head slightly as he thinks on what Sun had just pointed out, he knows that he needs to...but...it’s Pyrrha.

“I don’t know if I can do that.” Jaune says to him.

“She might not give you a choice. We both saw her; they have control of her mind. She doesn’t know any of us.” Sun states. Jaune looks at Sun.

“She will. If anything of Pyrrha is still in there, she still loves me...and I love her.” Jaune states. Sun smiles and he nods, always by his side no matter what.

“Well, they’ve fuelled up the Tethys, it’s time. And Neptune is crapping himself.” Sun chuckles as he walks off, still only wearing that open shirt of his. Jaune looks at his attire and he scoffs.

“You’re seriously just gonna wear _that_?” Jaune questions with a confused look. Sun turns and he laughs, holding his arms outwards.

“Oh hell yeah, it’s gonna be one hell of a ride!”

 

**Yang**

The powerful guttural engine of the Tethys bellows to life and the lights flash back on inside. Kassius throws both arms in the air with a booming whoop of happiness to hear that thing come back to life. “Let’s get a move on!” He cheers as he dances on the spot. Weiss looks over at Neptune who is shaking on the spot as he looks over at the ocean.

“Is it a possibility to sit this one out and hang out with the army?” Neptune asks them, pointing back at where they will follow. Weiss just gives him a stern look and that seems to make him enter submission to her and he groans, walking past her and towards the Submarine. Weiss approaches Yang and she sighs.

“How you feeling?” Yang asks her.

“Scared, you?” Weiss replies.

“Terrified...if Tyrian has done anything else to her I swear I will...” Yang snarls as she punches her fists together, wanting to crush that Scorpion Faunus’ head in with those fists. Her eyes widen and she yelps with pain after remembering that one fist is made of metal, a shockwave of pain moves through her human hand and she bounces on her toes. Weiss starts to giggle at Yang as she bounces. “Goddamn it!” She screams as she bounces. Weiss stands there and turns when she sees Sun walking back with Jaune from the hill after Jaune was able to pay respects to his fallen sister. Weiss has been thinking back on what she was like wit Ruby a lot.

“I owe her so much...” Weiss says to Yang and Yang shakes her hand a little but she calms down and listens to the Ice Queen. “She was irritating for a while...but...I never realised how much I missed her enthusiasm. She showed me the fun sides of life, outside of trying to fulfil a legacy.” Weiss explains to her friend and Yang puts her hand on her hip as she looks at Weiss.

“Same...she inspired me to get off my ass and do something about the bad in the world.” Yang tells her with a smile. Blake walks over to them as well, since she knows that they are talking about all the good that that little silver eyes girl brought into this extremely scary world.

“I owe her everything...she gave me the strength to accept myself for who I am...she was one of the first humans to ever treat me as a person, not as a Faunus.” Blake explains to them, remembering back when all Ruby asked was what her book was about. The Man with Two Souls. Team R.W.B.Y are a family, and they will never leave her behind.

“Well – let’s go repay her.” Weiss says, standing upwards with grace, walking with Blake towards the Tethys. Yang remains there and she turns when she sees Kassius stood by a crate with his arms crossed, that same kind smile on his face. Sun and Jaune get in and the two of them are the last to get inside.

Yang walks through the submarine, hand on the metal interior as everyone takes their places. There are twenty cabins, each one for one person. They are not very large but are thick with metal, someone could play the loudest music inside these cabins and the others would not hear a thing. Neptune panics as he feels the Submarine bouncing and he presses his hand to his mouth. “I’m – gonna puke!” He mumbles.

“If you’re gonna puke, do it over there.” Sun begs as he points at the trash can. The Architect is sat in the Cockpit and he turns to face them, and it seems his time with this enthusiastic lot has changed something in his personality. As he is acting more – talkative now.

“Any puking and I’m turning this bloody thing around!” The Architect bellows, even surprising Kragen, since he has never heard him say something like that. Neptune gathers the strength to swallow his fear – and is puke – back down and he gets into the cabin. The Architect activates the speaker system and he speaks into it to everyone. “Okay, this is your captain speaking. We are beginning our voyage on the Tethys to uncharted waters to an uncharted land to find someone amidst unknown technology! Any questions?” He asks them all. Sun’s hand emerges from his room.

“Where’s the toilet?” Sun asks.

Blake rolls her eyes.

 

Hours have passed...

The Tethys gently moves through the ocean blue, endless blue in the murkiness of the mysterious environment. The faint singing of whales echo in the distance, probably miles away. Yang is sat down in her cabin on her bed reading a book. After how long Blake has been her friend, she has taken up reading as a hobby for a while. Ironically, she is actually reading the book _The Man with Two Souls_ , found it in a library when they searched for any supplies. She flicks through the pages whilst the others get ready to sleep in their beds and cabins.

Suddenly her cabin door opens and she gasps, looking up and she sees him entering with raised eyebrows. His cybernetic arm holds the door open and he holds a bottle of wine in the other hand. “Mind if I come in?” He asks her as he jiggles the bottle where he stands. She sighs and she gestures for him to enter. He walks in and pulls the door shut behind her. The mechanism locks tight behind him and he walks over to her. She touches her long blonde hair and she sits down beside him with the bottle in his hand. She laughs when she looks at it.

“Where’d you dig that up?” Yang inquires.

He lifts it up and looks at it. “Found it in the cellars of one of the bars I came across, best I could afford on this kind of salary.” He chuckles.

“You mean you’re getting paid for this?” She remarks, making him laugh. He sits back and he looks up at the water from the upper circular window, the moon has risen into the sky and they can barely see anything out there in the deep. All they hear is the faint moans of whales in the distance. He sets the wine down and then he looks at her, feeling her hand holding onto his. She looks into his eyes with a smile. He stands up and he takes out his scroll and sets it down on the corner. He starts to play some music and he pulls Yang up from the bed, making her yelp.

“Why not have some fun?” He asks her as he holds her and twirls her round. She giggles as she dances with him. She walks with him as they move around the room, their hands forever held together and then she pulls herself closer and holds onto him as they move with the music, her head pressed against the side of his. She moves her hand across his back and he does the same across hers.

“I don’t remember knowing you could dance...” She giggles as they walk around the room.

“I learned a couple things at Mistral.” He chuckles into her ear and she closes her eyes as she imagines with him. He then raises her hand up and twirls her again. She pulls herself closer to him however, not letting go as she looks into his eyes. Their lips nearly touching, intimately gazing into one another’s eyes.

“I love you, Kassius Locke.” She confesses as she looks into his eyes and he looks right back. “I have to tell you that...I don’t know how this will end. If it ends with us winning and getting her out and living happily ever after...or if we die in this Submarine...I just want you to know this. I don’t want anyone else in my life; I love you...now and always.” She honestly tells him, caressing the back of his head with her hand. He holds her and she can feel the shyness appearing in him, something she has never seen before. But it must be bringing up some past memories that he is trying to bury. He closes his eyes, and then when he opens, he has made his decision.

“I love you too, Yang Xiao Long...” He tells her, warming her heart with joy. “I want this to work out, Yang...more than anything in my life. I have never been more certain...it’s just...” Kassius stammers nervously and she holds him affectionately.

“What?” Yang asks.

“I’m scared...Yang...” He stammers. Yang smiles as she presses her head to his.

“I’m scared too.” She whispers.

“I’ve seen so much go wrong in my life, Yang...” He begins. Yang looks up in his eyes, so at home in his embrace. She blinks slowly but majestically when she listens to the words that come out of the nervous boy’s mouth. “My childhood with Sapphire, what happened with Ilia and my team.” Kassius explains.

Yang slowly moves closer to him. “I just want something to go right...just once...just.” Kassius admits, but Yang stops him with a loving kiss right on his lips, her arms wrapped around him. She lets him hold her as he may please, her eyes closed as she kisses him. She opens her eyes and ends the kiss and she lovingly looks at him.

“As long as we are together...nothing will go wrong...I promise.” She assures. He smiles and he repeats his previous statement to make his point very clear.

“I love you, Yang.” He tells her. She smiles as she takes her coat off and pushes his off his shoulders.

“Then show me.” She demands, pulling him towards her and falling onto the bed with him.


	41. Cruel Sea

**Yang**

The Tethys silently and gently floats through the deep blue sea; the sun has risen back into the sky after the ling journey that has taken place, the blue lit up the abyss as they move through. The sonar pulsates across the sea, detecting anything that could be of threat. However as they drift through the sea, something massive is trailing them in the dark deep beneath them, a deep growl resounding from beneath.

In her cabin, Yang is cuddled up to Kassius who has his arm around her unclothed body, her head rested against his scarred chest. They both do not notice the dark silhouette that stalks them in the ocean, humming hauntingly as it follows them. Suddenly the alarm on the Submarine sounds, causing Yang’s lilac eyes to burst open and she gasps when she hears that scary sound. She sits up with the bed sheet covering her body as she looks around and Kassius sits up beside her, still with his arm round her. “What’s happening?” Yang questions.

“Everyone! Get to stations!” The Architect orders through the intercom in the vehicle. They both look at each other and they pick up their clothes and they start to put them back on as fast as they possibly can.

While they are doing so, Qrow clambers through the Submarine with Winter following him to the cockpit of the vessel where the Architect is at the controls. He grabs onto the back of the seat that the machine is sat in and he looks at the infinite blue before him. “What is it?” Qrow asks him, keeping his eyes peeled for whatever it is that spooked the Architect enough to tell them to get to their stations. The Architect looks back at him and then at the sonar screen beneath him with his powerful optics.

“I just picked something _massive_ on sonar, never seen something so big.” The Architect reports.

Yang and Kassius come out of their cabin with their clothes back on and they look out as well, seeing the deep that terrifies them all at the sight of it. Just nothing for miles, until there is something ahead. Huge skyscrapers of kelp and rock that rise upwards. “We’ll get in the guns.” Yang tells him as she and Kassius pull the ladders down from the ceilings and they open up the hatches. The hatches drop down and they both climb up into them. Sun walks out from his and Blake’s Cabin and he climbs into one of them as well, and Blake gets into the other gun as well. The four guns, after they are strapped inside, fold out from the hull, held by powerful joints and pistons that keep them in place and they can twist and turn elegantly. Yang keeps her hands on the triggers and joysticks so then she can move her cannon as he looks at the huge blue. She is literally in the ocean right now, just bullet proof glass and titanium metal keeping her from the Davy Jones’ Locker. Her long blonde hair has been tied back into a ponytail just so then she can see perfectly and not miss any targets. There could be Creatures of Grimm anywhere down here. She turns the turret with simple movements with the joysticks in her grasp. She turns and looks at Kassius, Sun and Blake who are looking around as well.

“Hey Weiss, how’s Neptune?” Yang asks her over the radio in her turret to pass the time, and calm herself down. She can hardly blame his fear right now. A sigh appears over the radio from her response.

“He hasn’t moved since we woke.” Weiss answers, as if she were rolling her eyes as she said it. Yang giggles at that, but she too understands his fear now. And considering the circumstances of what happened to his family, what Watts had done to that Dam, his fear is quite reasonable.

The Tethys continues down the path of ocean, and the further it moves, those huge towers of rock and coral, are more than just that. They have structure to them, ancient rebar sticking out of the concrete like bones from a corpse. This is no natural formation; this was once a city, sunken into the sea after thousands of years of being abandoned here. “What is this place?” Nora wonders with her eyes scanning the ruins that they drift through, Kragen looks at it all with his Silver Eyes and he closes them sadly. He knows.

“It’s an ancient city the Arkhoni Built, called Vaserys, there was land here once, a large island, but over the years the island was swallowed up by the sea...looks like this is what remains.” He sighs as he looks at it all. Qrow looks at the rubble that has been left down here, and he feels for the Last Arkhoni who stands beside him.

“The people of Arkhonex...once were the greatest at anything in their time...” Qrow sighs.

“And then we weren’t.” Kragen finishes for him, looking at a tall, beautiful, statue of an angel with coral that has grown across it all. This old city is nothing more than a gigantic ecosystem for all kinds of life, both normal and Grimm. A school of fish come darting out of the buildings as the Tethys moves past them, the large propellers at the back spinning at a casual pace to keep the vessel moving in the sea.

“And then they weren’t.” Qrow follows up with after seeing what has become of this place. It might have once had thousands, maybe millions, of people living here in this city. Cars and trucks driving around. There are actually some ancient vehicles, rusted away, floating near the seabed where they are.

“Well at least we can see the seabed again, I never liked having nothing beneath us...anything could have been under us.” Sun says, he then turns and looks at Blake. She may not have been the best person to have in one of these Pods since she too is not the best fan of water. She is looking very cautious as she looks around, not as petrified as Neptune, but more afraid than terrified. She is part-cat after all, her amber irises constricted from her nervousness of the water. Sun turns his gun and he looks round and they can see that there is a way through this part of the city but there are some hollow points in the building. The four of them notice their guns are coming online as the Architect activates them for them.

“You know, Architect, I’ve never used these kinds of guns before.” Kassius informs him as he turns the cannon.

“Yeah! We could use some practice.” Yang agrees to him.

“Alright, powering ‘em up. Now don’t be shooting each other.” He orders to them, he really has opened his personality up to them all more than he did before. He was a lot more formal at first; it seems the Mechanical Man is now happy to be a little ridiculous at times. Yang aims her cannon at the building, looking through the projected sights on the glass that she can aim with, and she pulls the triggers on the joysticks, and the cannons open fire, launching explosive projectiles through the water and into the old concrete. Air bubbles form behind the trail of the shells and inside the short explosions that are thrown into the old and soft structure. The concrete and brickwork shatters into little pieces, crumbling apart and being taken away into the current. The Tethys floats through the opening, perfectly. Just like a glove.

Yang begins to get a little excited by the cannon she has in her control, but just before she can pull the triggers again, the guns power down. “Aw...” She moans.

“Okay, I’m powering down the guns, it’s all quiet! No point wasting juice.” The Architect tells them and they continue to wait as they move through. The Architect pilots the vessel further and they all look around, their eyes widening when they see these huge sea mines that are hanging up from the bed of the ocean. Still online as well, red lights glowing at the tips of the spines.

“Uh...guys...I’m seeing a lot of explosives out here.” Blake warns as she keeps her eyes on them.

“Explosives?” Weiss bursts.

“Okay everyone keep your eyes open, we didn’t come this far to get killed by a mine.” Jaune tells them all.

“Funny.” Adam sighs, since he is blind after all.

“Oh, sorry.” Jaune replies.

The four turrets remain on a swivel, watching the mines to make sure that none of them get too close for comfort. “So uh – Kragen – what kind of creatures do you think could be out here?” Raven inquires out of curiosity.

“Yeah, I’m curious as well.” Nora joins.

“Well...there are Sea Dragons we need to be careful of. But the big ones we should worry about are the Krastax.” Kragen answers and they all listen to his advice and his knowledge, but the name of something like that is enough to worry them.

“The what?” Jaune asks.

“Krastax. They are extremely rare but also extremely dangerous. They reside in the deepest points of the ocean, but I do recall seeing them in mountainous areas in the sea. Like this kind of terrain.” Kragen explains, and the he begins to describe these Creatures. “The Krastax are incredibly intelligent Creatures of Grimm, and they are giants as well. They can use weapons and could definitely destroy our submarine if we are not careful. They never work alone either.”

“What do they look like?” Blake asks him.

“Massive Humanoid Bodies except they have mandibles and the bodies of Arthropods.” He adds, worrying them as well. They have seen nothing yet, but something has been following them. The Architect caught it on the sonar.

“Anything else?” Sun inquires.

“Oh I’m sure there’s a lot more. Sharks, Dunkleosteus, Mosasaurus, Liopleurodon, Leviathans...I could go on.” He lists, which does not fill them with much confidence, and that makes Neptune that much more terrified.

“Why did I come on this trip?” He wails.

The Tethys passes by a crumbled Church Building by the looks of it, the steeple collapsed and the huge clock buried in coral and weed. Suddenly from the concrete, something bursts out from it, coral breaking away from her feminine body. A beautiful looking woman with a fish like tale swims before them. She sings as she swims around them, investigating them with stunning eyes to try and tempt the men. “Whoa...is that a Mermaid?” Sun asks. She touches his pod with her hand, looking down at him and he tries to look away from her naked body but she moves with his eyes. He shakes the gun to get her off. “Get off! I’m a faithful boyfriend thank you very much.” Sun scoffs, which makes Blake blush, the Mermaid swims away from his gun and she swims ahead of the Tethys. Yang laughs a little when she looks at the Mermaid.

“Looks like we’ve got an escort.” Yang says with a smile. Then more Siren Song appears around them and Yang watches the one that was ahead swim past her turret, and when she follows it, more of them are appearing from the buildings, all with different coloured hair. Some blonde, some brown and some red haired.

“And she’s got some friends too.” Kassius tells them, Qrow looks through the circular windows to observe them.

“I see them.”  Qrow responds and the Architect watches them as well. The shoal of Mermaids begins to move further ahead of them, and then they all start to turn. Unexpectedly they all dart towards them, and their alluring shapes now shift into their real forms. Black reptilian Grimm creatures with glowing red eyes and razor sharp claws and teeth. They shriek as they attack and one slams straight into Yang’s gun.

“Look out!” Ren shouts as it scrapes across the tough glass. No puncture luckily, but if it continues to hit the turret or the hull they will be in big trouble. The others transform as well, roaring as they attack over and over again.

“Goddamn it, these things are getting dangerous! Take them out!” Qrow orders to those on the guns, and the guns charge back up and they immediately start shooting at the Sirens as they attack, moving extremely fast. Yang nails one with one of the turret’s shells, and the Siren explodes into a black mist in the water. One just misses the pod that Kassius is in and he turns his gun round as he tracks it and fires a round straight into its tail, blowing the long tail off and the black smoke pours like blood from the wound. The Siren screeches in pain as it sinks.

“Damn these gal’s are ugly as hell!” Kassius trash talks to the Sirens that probably do not have any idea of what he is saying.

“By the gods! The sonar’s going crazy! Contacts everywhere!” The Architect calls out and Kragen looks around, they have just woken the Cruel Sea. The monsters are coming out and his eyes widen when he sees the Grimm Sharks and other beasts that are being drawn.

“We’ve woken the Cruel Sea!” He warns them, and a massive armoured fish swims towards them, clamping its jaws down, just missing them. But that same beast then snaps onto a Mermaid, biting onto her and she cries out as the monster carries her away. The creature looks like a shark but has the armour of some kind of ship across its body, glowing red eyes. A Dunkleosteus, with teeth made from armour itself that sheer the crying Mermaid into tiny chunks with ease, causing her body to turn to smoke.

“They’re attacking each other?” Weiss questions.

“The Grimm down here are more aggressive than most, they do not differentiate their prey. They kill anything that strikes their fancy. Keep moving!” Kragen orders to the Architect.

“You got it!” The Architect assures, accelerating and making the propellers work harder and faster as they head towards a huge amount of Kelp ahead alongside the collapsed buildings.

“The Sirens are still attacking us!” Yang shouts as she turns and sees more Sirens following them from the bloodbath that they just left. They screech as they follow, their calls echo for miles across the sea. One throws itself against Blake’s Pod and she yelps from the sudden impact, then her cat ears curve down and she frowns with anger. She turns her turret and pulls the triggers, firing at the creature as it banks around to attack once again. Their hair has also turned into black smoke that mimics hair, their eyes glow blood red and the same one goes to attack again. She sends a shell straight through its head, blowing it to bits from the explosion, her cries fading from the impact. Sun tracks another and hits her in the arm, but it does not kill her, just blows her arm off. He hits her straight in the chest afterwards and kills her. Kassius looks down and sees one coming up from below and it grabs onto his turret, causing the turret to bounce back on the hinge that keeps it connected to the Tethys.

“Argh! Get off me!” Kassius shouts as he shakes the gun erratically as Sun did, but she is digging her claws into the glass, scratching and even starting to puncture it. If she manages that, Kassius will drown inside the spherical gun. “Yang!” He calls for assistance, her eyes widen and she swiftly turns to aim at the Mermaid that is attacking him. He holds her still as she slashes her claws at screams at him to try and get inside. Yang narrows her eyes as she focuses to hit the Siren and not kill Kassius in the process. She holds her breath and then breathes out, pulling the trigger. The shell hits and carries the Siren off from his pod and it screams as it explodes next to him, but not on the glass. Kassius respires with relief from how close that was. He looks at Yang with a smile. “Thanks!” He praises with happiness and she smiles.

The Tethys moves away and Blake looks back at the slaughter that is still underway back there. “Anything following us?” She asks the Architect, and he looks down at his sonar map as it spins round. He is detecting something coming for them.

“Something’s coming straight for us.” The Architect tells them.

“How big?” Sun asks him as he looks around, mostly at the Kelp.

“Bigger than the Sirens...” He says, and just as he says that, Yang looks down and she has just realised that the thing he is talking about is actually coming from below. The sea bed of the sunken island is to their left, they have drifted back towards the deep. And in that darkness, something is coming for them. Then the red eyes can be seen and the roar. Another Dunkleosteus has attacked, jaws wide with furious eyes.

“It’s underneath us!” Yang yells and the Architect is fast as he pulls the controls to the left, only just missing the jaws of the huge monster as they clamp down with a bang. It rises up after the attack and decelerates, turning to come after them. This Dunkleosteus is making the previous once look absolutely tiny in comparison. It follows them and it growls as it tries to tear the hull off with its powerful jaws.

“Aim for its face!” Kragen advises, without question they aim for the skull of the Dunkleosteus, firing shells over and over into the face. The Dunkleosteus roars with anger and pain, shaking its head when they manage to blow a piece of armour plating from its cheek, black smoke trailing from the skull. Neptune rocks back and forth in his cabin with his arms wrapped around his legs, then he looks through the window and sees the monster coming straight for them. He screams like a little girl and hides from its view. Then Weiss realises why they are all coming for them.

“It’s Neptune’s fear! That’s why they are attacking us! We need to get to shores now!” Weiss tells them after seeing that it is getting more aggressive the more scared Neptune becomes. Qrow looks back at the horrified boy and he then looks at Weiss.

“Well, calm him down or something!” Qrow tells her and Weiss stammers as she tries to think of something to calm him down. She runs to him and sits down with him and she has her hands on his shoulders to hold him still.

“Neptune! Neptune, look into my eyes.” She begs him and he actually is starting to cry from terror now. It’s not just the ocean or even water that scares him; it’s also the creatures of the deep that terrify him. She caresses his cheek with her hand to try and calm him down. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” She promises.

Yang aims for the eye of the Dunkleosteus and manages to nail it straight in the eye, causing it to howl with woe, shaking its massive head, black smoke spilling from the fresh wound as it continues to come after them. “It’s not giving up!” Yang calls to them.

“We need something bigger against this thing!” Blake tells them. Inside the Submarine, Adam comes up with an idea and he starts to feel his way through the ship to find what it is he is searching for.

“Surely this thing has torpedoes, right?” Adam asks them, and Jaune turns round to look at him where he stands. He has found the chamber where a torpedo can be fired from.

“There might be some in here somewhere.” Kragen tells him. Jaune clambers through the hull to Adam’s side.

“Come on, let’s find them.” He says. Adam and Jaune search through the supplies and Adam has been able to see through touch and hearing, so he feels everything he can to figure out if it is a torpedo or not. Jaune digs through the junk that is not helpful against something of that magnitude. The Dunkleosteus smashes its head against the side of the Tethys and the impact throws Jaune against the wall with force, stunning him for a moment. He groans with pain, his hand pressed to the back of his head, and he sees blood. “Ow...” He groans. Adam then feels something and he gasps, pulling it out. Jaune looks at it and he sees it.

The Dunkleosteus comes back around for a second attack with a roar as its jaws open wide to sheer the hull off with those almighty teeth. “Guys! We’ve found a torpedo!” Jaune calls to them through the radio. Sun shoots the Dunkleosteus in the side of the head again to keep it from attacking a second time and it works, making it move round, growling.

“Well use it! We’ll keep the thing occupied.” Sun tells him as he tracks the creature. Jaune pushes the Torpedo with Adam’s help into the chamber and he locks it inside with a twist. He closes it and then he looks through the scope of the weapon, waiting for it to be right in front. He sees it coming directly for them with its jaws wide. He pulls the trigger and with a bang, the torpedo is launched from the Submarine, directly into its mouth. The Dunkleosteus has no time to react to swallowing a torpedo, because it’s head completely explodes into large chunks of black and white armour, and finally, the body disintegrates into black smoke. They all sigh with relief, knowing that the Armoured Monster is dead.

“Thank the gods...” Jaune sighs with relief.

“Don’t celebrate just yet; I think we have more Sirens coming. All that gunfire must have attracted them.” The Architect advises. Kassius looks around for the Sirens, and sure enough one comes out of the Kelp forest that the Architect is driving into.

“They’re following the Search Lights! Architect! Kill the lights!” Kassius orders after he blows one up, realising that the bright lights are shining still.

“You got it.” The Architect assures, shutting the lights down in the dark. Weiss looks around when the darkness fills the ship, still holding Neptune close to calm him. He is doing better now than he was before, breathing in and out slowly and carefully to not start hyperventilating. Sun throws his hands up in the air with annoyance when he searches for anything in the darkness.

“Thanks, Architect, now I can’t see a goddamn thing.” Sun says.

“I can see.” Blake assures him, due to her enhanced eyesight as a Feline Faunus.

“Oh lucky you.” Sun sarcastically remarks and it makes Blake giggle.

“It’s alright; I can still pick them up on the sonar.” The Architect assures. After that huge battle that they just had against the Creatures of Grimm that attacked them...nothing. Dead silence, nothing has even come near them in the Kelp.

“I don’t like this...they’ve just – given up?” Winter questions.

“Yeah...this can’t be a good sign.” Qrow groans out of fear of something else coming for them.  “Architect? Anything trailing us now?” He asks.

“Nothing on Sonar.” He answers.

“Architect? How’s the Tethys holding up?” Yang inquires.

“No hull breaches yet, ma’am, we’re okay.” The Architect promises. The Tethys continues its voyage through the rainforest of kelp; the four turrets investigate the silence with their movements to figure out what is going on. It is too quiet for it to be good, Grimm never give up unless they have all been killed or something has spooked them. Since this is an ocean, it is highly unlikely that they killed them all.

Until...

They all hear something bizarre. Something like the ocean is rumbling, some extremely deep thrumming getting louder and louder by the second. Like it s getting closer. Kassius looks around when he hears it. “Everyone! Quiet.” He tells them and everyone falls silent so they can listen to the scary sound, Neptune listens to it with fearful eyes. “Hear that?” He asks them. Blake looks around as she listens to it.

“By the gods, it sounds like an earthquake...that’s weird.” She says, but Kassius thinks he knows that something big is coming for them in the shadows; looking in the direction he can hear it. Because that is no earthquake, it is the sound of something growling and the rumbling is that of a massive muscular body moving towards them.

“Good Gods! There is something massive coming straight for us!” The Architect calls out.

“Architect! Architect! Hit the lights!” Kassius orders, and he does so. Then they see the monster, and it would strike terror into any who would see it. And they only manage to catch a glimpse of its open jaws as it goes for them. The Architect swerves out of the way and the jaws clamp down beside it, and the monster moves through the kelp away from them.

“Oh Dust! That was too close!” Sun calls out. The Architect starts to rise up from the kelp.

“Hang on!” He advises as he pulls the vessel upwards and blasts towards the top of the layer of Kelp to get a better angle on whatever the hell that thing was that near ate them. Sun looks around erratically to try and find it.

“Now where’d it go? It was right there?” Sun stammers.

“I don’t see it!” Yang tells him as she looks around the ocean to find it. They all notice that all the Grimm are fleeing the scene after that thing appeared. This thing must be extremely powerful and dangerous to frighten all the Grimm away from the area. Yang feels the rumbling behind her, and she turns her gun, looking behind her and her eyes widen after seeing it rising up from the forest of Kelp. “There it is!” Yang calls out after spotting it.

The Titan is gigantic, some sort of gargantuan reptile Grimm but crossed with a cephalopod. It is the size of a football court with a pair of huge fins and massive tentacles grown out of its body in places with a massive armoured head along with seven rows of immense sharp teeth. It has small red eyes and just like all Grimm it has black and white flesh and armour, the tentacles drag behind it with its long tail and the tentacles all have suckers on them like a squid or octopus. Kragen’s eyes widen in horror when he sees it, and Qrow seems to recognise the shape as well when he stares at it with fear. “By the gods...I have seen the sketches...but I never wanted to believe.” Kragen gasps when seeing it for the first time. Everyone looks in awe at the giant.

“What is it?” Winter asks with fear.

“It’s a Kraken.” Kragen answers with fearful eyes. The Kraken swims beside them and it roars menacingly.

“Come on! We’ve gotta sink this thing!” Kassius tells them, firing his cannon at it, but they might as well be poking because not even torpedoes are going to do a thing against this monstrosity. The armour is far too thick to even hope to do any damage to it. The Kraken howls and it wades through the water and into the sunken structures that they drift past, knocking them down and the huge tentacles scrape across the hull, actually ripping a plate off the vessel, but not making a hull breach, luckily.

“Holy hell! That nearly breached the hull!” Sun shouts out of shock when they watch the ridiculously massive monster swimming at great speeds through the water, banking round the blue to attack again, a menacing dark silhouette as it goes for a second assault. However, they have returned to the submerged island, meaning they can use the buildings as cover. The Kraken dives for them with its jaws open and they all hope for the best wit this tactic.

“Try shooting in its mouth when it opens! Must be a weakness!” Kassius suggests, firing straight into the soft tissue in its mouth. The Kraken slams its jaws down early before getting close enough, clearly feeling pain from being shot in the mouth like that. But the massive body is still a threat as it smashes through the buildings and just misses them by an inch. And it’s only getting worse, as they move through the ocean-bound city, they realise that the sea mines have returned, a city of them as well. Hundreds of them clustered together in the ocean.

“Dust help us! We’ve got the whole damn flotilla down here!” The Architect speaks when he sees them all. But then...Neptune of all people, has a plan.

“Wait! We could use those mines against that thing!” He says to them, seeming to conquer his fear, finally getting up from the floor and trying to help as best as he can. Weiss looks around with wide eyes as she sees the Kraken moving round the Mines to attack. They could do that, but it means baiting the Kraken into them, which is extremely dangerous.

“It’s not giving up easily!” Blake states as she shoots at a mine in front of them and the explosive detonates and the chain floats up to the surface. At the surface, there are random ripples from the explosions every now and then. A Seagull flies off from the little ripple, completely unaware of the huge battle occurring underneath it right now.

“Look out for the mines!” Sun shouts as he shoots one that was wedged in one of the buildings. The titanic beast turns in the sea and comes for them again, but it slams its head against a secure chunk of rock sticking out of the ground. It shakes its head with anger and it bellows at them, the resonance of the roar echoes across the entire ocean. One to be feared by everyone. The Kraken clamps its jaws at them, but the rubble gets its mouth stuck on it and it shakes its head in distress. The four of them take their chance, shooting at its mouth again to do some damage to it, if it is even harming it. The Kraken rips its mouth free and floats overhead, the tentacles smashing into the buildings.

“It’s still on us!” Yang screams with terror as it follows them.

“Well keep shooting! Keep him off our ass!” The Architect orders.

“Come on, Architect, it’s gonna take more than this to kill it!” Raven points out, since nothing seems to be discouraging the beast. The Kraken tails them, the eyes glowing bright red, the snarls reverberate through the water and their bones. Neptune looks at the mines and he realises that this is the best chance they have, no cover for the Kraken to get stuck on, but also no cover for the Tethys to be protected in.

“Keep going! We can’t stop!” Kassius tells him, still shooting at the Kraken as it swims beside them. The Kraken starts to come straight for them with rage in its eyes to kill them. Neptune puts his hand on the Architect’s shoulder.

“Pull back...now!” He tells him to, timing it and the Architect does so, stopping the craft in its tracks and the Kraken swims straight into the mines and the explosions create one deafening howl of pain from the monster, shaking its head, and there is actually damage on its face as well, plates of armour blown off from the explosion. Smoke trails from the wound and it swims around erratically from the hot pain it is suffering from due to the explosion, one of its eyes has also been blown open as well. It swims around, but seems even more motivated to kill them now. “Use the mines as cover.”

“That’s not a sentence you ever wanna hear.” Oscar shudders at the thought.

“Alright, but blow the other mines out of _our_ way.” The Architect tells them as the Kraken follows them. They keep on shooting the chains and the mines float up to the surface, until the Kraken swims overhead and the mines hit its underbelly, causing some more damage and making it bellow with agony.

“The Kraken’s still on our tail, Architect!” Yang argues against shooting the mines as well as the giant Cephalopod that chases them.

“Keep shooting! Because if the Kraken doesn’t get us, the mines will!” He tells them, and the Kraken smashes its massive body against a huge Arkhoni Building that was still standing. Until then, because it tips over in the water and crashes down right in front of them, squishing some mines as well. The Kraken keeps on circling them to attack over and over.

“Are those arches over there?” Oscar asks when he sees them ahead and the Architect spots them.

“You’re right.” The Architect agrees,

“Try for them, the Kraken won’t be able to follow us through there.” Oscar suggests.

“I hope it can’t!” The Architect says.

“We just need to hold it off long enough to figure out how to kill this thing.” Oscar says to them. As they move towards it, the Kraken seems to figure out what they are up to and it approaches the other side of the arch and it slams its head down into the other end, opening its mouth to eat them.

“Shoot in its mouth!” Kassius orders, holding the triggers down, and they all do the same thing, essentially setting its mouth on fire. The Kraken remains there when they shoot it over and over, but eventually the pain is too much, and it pulls back and swims to the other arch to attack again.

“This tunnel ain’t your size, big guy!” Sun challenges, the monster slams its head right into the arch once again, roaring as it opens its mouth.

“Oh gods, it’s not gonna give up is it?” Blake groans as she shoots at it. “Shoot it! Aim for his mouth!” They keep on shooting and shooting, even shattering some of the massive teeth in place and it rips its head from the arch to retreat. Without realising, the arches are leading into a tunnel network that the Kraken is too small to fit through to follow them through.

“Take that!” Sun whoops as they enter the tunnel and they start to escape the Kraken’s reach. They drift into the tunnel filled with glowing underwater flora and fish swim away from fear. But not from them, from the Kraken that has not given up yet, following them to the tunnel.

“We can’t outrun it, guys!” The Architect says with a panicked voice as the Kraken comes after them. The four of them watch from their vulnerable positions in the guns. The Kraken opens its mouth to bite down on the hull, until there is a quake, and it cannot go any further, the gigantic creature’s body cannot fit into the tunnel. It shakes its body to try and free itself and, luckily they manage to get away from it.

“Ha-ha! Look at him, he’s stuck! Look at him! See ya!” Sun whoops, throwing his fist in the air in his pod.

“Ah...we made it!” Blake sighs with relief as they get further from the Kraken, still stuck.

“I’m getting too old for this stuff.” Kragen groans, rubbing his face. All of a sudden, the Tethys starts to move back and it shakes violently. The Kraken has used one of its tentacles like an arm and it has wrapped around the tail of the Tethys, pulling it back towards its mouth, even bending the hull with the strength of its grip.

“It’s got us! The damned Kraken’s got us by the tail!” The Architect screams in a panic as he sees it pulling them back, still trying to eat them.

“Shoot it’s mouth!” Kassius orders, opening fire again. Everyone starts to panic inside when it pulls them closer and closer.

“Just get the tentacle!” The Architect states, but they keep shooting the mouth, shredding the soft tissue inside. It gets so close until they do too much damage to its mouth and it releases them and it swings its head back and hits the wall of the tunnel so hard that the entire tunnel shakes, cracks spreading up the ceiling.

“Architect! Gun it!” Kassius tells him after it released them, and then the Kraken lunges forward again to bite them. But just as it does, the ceiling begins to collapse and a huge rock smashes down onto its head, cracking its head open and causing black smoke to spill from its cranium. The Kraken panics and tries to free itself desperately but only makes its own situation worse, howling in distress as the rocks fall onto its head more and more, and finally the largest one crushes its head, the roar echoes through the tunnel hauntingly. The final groan echoes like that of a ghost...

...and then silence.

The Kraken is dead.

Shocked and stunned by what just happened, they all take a moment to breathe normally again after what they had just experienced. They were a hair from being eaten by that Kraken, if it weren’t for it panicking when a rock fell on its head, they would be dead right now. “Hot damn...for a moment there I thought we were about to end up like the Arkhoni just then.” The Architect chuckles, looking at Kragen. “No offense.” He says to him.

“You will never – ever – catch me in one of these things again! You hear me?” Neptune tells them, breathing in and out again as he closes his eyes. Oscar sits down and he takes a moment to chill. As they keep moving into the tunnel, they find themselves in a huge cave, one that the Kraken could have fit inside of if it got this point. As the Tethys floats in however, something else just has to go wrong.

The spotlights suddenly shut off and the whole Submarine stops moving. All the electrics have shut off and their eyes widen. “What happened?” Weiss asks with fear.

“Crap, the Kraken must have damaged the electrical circuits when it grabbed us.” The Architect states.

“Well what do we do?” Jaune asks.

“There are two sets of Scuba Gear available. One for a woman, one for a guy.” The Architect explains as he stands up, looking at them all. “I can’t go out there, my chassis cannot survive deep sea environments like this, hell I needed a poncho to stop the sand from short-circuiting me.” The Architect explains. Nobody really wants to go out there in the dark water like this after the Kraken was literally out there. It might be dead, but who knows what else could be out there.

Neptune closes his eyes and he sighs. He stands up and looks at the Architect. “I’ll go.” He bravely says, wanting to go and face his own fear right now. Weiss turns and looks right at him with widened eyes, fearful for his sake when he says that. He was terrified earlier, but he has managed to muster the courage to do this.

“You don’t have to.” Qrow assures him.

“No I do, I know this kind of stuff. I was one of the best engineers in my class back at Haven Academy. I can do this.” He assures. Weiss holds his hand, smiling proudly at him and then she looks at them as well.

“I’ll help him.” She volunteers bravely as well. None of them like having to do this, but they have no other choice.

 

**Neptune**

After getting the scuba gear on, he and Weiss stand in the airlock with each other, he is shaking with fear when he sees the sea out there to get into. She holds his hand as she looks at him, wearing her helmet that she was given, just like his. He has his orange goggles down to focus. “We can do this.” She promises. He smiles and he gently touches his head to hers. They both stand tall, waiting for the Architect to contact them.

“Okay...are you guys ready?” He asks them.

“Yep.” Weiss answers.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He sighs.

“Alright, I’m opening the airlock in three, two one.” He counts down. Neptune takes a deep breath, despite having a helmet and oxygen to breathe in the water. More for his own sake than to survive. The lock opens and the water pours inside and they both swim out from the airlock, the lock closes behind them. They swim out, using their flippers to move quickly in the water. They have flashlights attached to their helmets, investigating the damage done to the hull of the Tethys. They can hear faint sounds of creatures around the ocean, they could be near or miles away. It is hard to tell in the ocean, sound carries far, very far. They hold onto the hull to guide themselves across, and then they see the damage that the Kraken managed to do to the Tethys. “Gods...” He gasps, it managed to fold pieces of metal back from its attacks, and luckily there is still some layer of hull left intact. Hopefully it can stay that way.

“What’s the damage?” The Architect asks them.

“Extensive Hull Damage, but some of it is still intact.” Neptune answers, his voice quite shaky as he swims through the water. For someone who is terrified of the stuff, he is mastering the swimming in it pretty well.

Weiss moves through, her long white hair fluttering behind the back of her head, and then she finds some scorch marks where something must have gone wrong. “Nep! Over here.” She calls, and Neptune swims over to her and he looks at the damage. He pulls a piece of the metal back and he looks at the circuits inside. They have found the damage. He jumps when he hears the sound of something moving behind him in the water, they both aim their flashlights in that direction. Nothing is there, but they are not insane, something was definitely there. He is still shaking erratically when he looks at the damage. He focuses when Weiss starts to sing to him in his ear, no lyrics, just humming beautifully to him through his radio so then he can stay calm. He takes his tools out and he starts to work on it. “Is the sonar working?” Weiss asks them.

“No...Why?” Kragen responds.

“Because we definitely heard something moving behind us.” Weiss answers as she keeps on looking around. Neptune uses the ocean-grade repair tools on the circuits that have been torn up. Luckily they were just shifted out of place, would not have to be too much to fix. He moves them and welds them back together and that takes a couple of minutes. Weiss looks over her shoulder whilst she hums to her boyfriend after hearing yet another growl behind them. But for some reason, the thuds sound more like footsteps.

Neptune lifts it up. “Got it!” He says, and the Architect restarts the power and then the spotlights reactivate and the sonar pulsates again, through the cave. Their eyes widen and Neptune’s heart nearly stops when he sees the red eyes glowing from the reflection of the spotlights as it emerges. It is massive, stood on two legs with a long tentacle arm and a four clawed hand at the ready. It has three red eyes and razor sharp mandibles as it stands there. Everyone gasps in horror when they see the monster.

“Oh no...It’s the Krastax! We’ve ended up in their territory!” Kragen shouts in legitimate fear as the Krastax Warlord stands tall, roaring at them, the mandibles spread outwards and the eyes glow red. The Krastax smashes the Tethys upwards and it spins out of control in the cave, they all scream inside. The impact hits Neptune and Weiss, sending them floating away from the Tethys, Neptune is screaming uncontrollably. The Architect works as hard as he can to fix the spinning of the Tethys as he can. The claws cut across the hull but not all the way through. But it cannot stand much more punishment of this degree. Weiss forms a glyph behind her and Neptune to stop them both. They do not realise that there is actually a second Krastax Warrior inside here and it climbs down the wall like a spider, three long prongs instead of claws unlike the Warlord. It climbs down onto the ground, multiple long spines sticking up from its back. It roars aggressively at the Warlord, the spines glow bright red as it sees the Warlord, causing the first one to turn with furious eyes. The Krastax bellows and then swims towards the Warrior. The Warlord grabs the Warrior by the throat and smashes it against the wall.

The Warrior slashes down with the three blades across the tentacle that the Warlord has and then head butts the creature so hard that black smoke trails out from the cranium that was cracked open. Weiss and Neptune swim as fast as they can towards the Tethys as it starts to move towards them, the airlock starting to open back up for them. But as the get close, Neptune looks up, his eyes widen when he sees a third one showing up. Unlike the other two, it has no legs but looks more like a shark with sharp fins and blades. It snarls as it swims down, keeping its two red eyes on Weiss and Neptune.

The Cannon Pods come back online and they aim at the Shark Krastax, firing shells straight at it, but it darts right for them, the mandibles slamming shut right in front of them. The shell hits the Shark Warrior in the side of the head, causing it to spin out of the control and into the wall of the cave. Neptune and Weiss are both thrown back from the explosion. Yang turns her gun, terrified for their safety, they had no idea that there were these monsters hiding in here the whole time, waiting for them to reveal themselves fully. “Get inside!” Yang yells, firing at the three Krastax Creatures that are fighting each other. The Warlord grabs the Warrior and throws it into the ground with force, and as it goes to bite the beast, the Shark swims straight into the Warlord, pinning it against the wall, stabbing it with the sharp blades that protrude from its body.

“Why are they fighting each other?” Oscar questions.

“They haven’t seen humans in thousands of years, they need to kill something.” Kragen presumes as they watch the monsters brutally attacking each other in their own cave network.

The Warrior gets back up, stabbing the three claws into the sand of the bed of the cave, and it glares right at the two of them, tilting its head curiously at the prey. Weiss and Neptune swim back from it and it stands tall, dwarfing them in comparison, and it swings the huge blades directly at them, but the act of doing so creates a shockwave as it hits the sand, the current blows the two of them through the water and into another small tunnel that goes down into a different cave.

“Weiss!” Blake screams, spotting that happening. The Warrior lunges after them but cannot catch them, roaring at them as they fall down the tunnel. It pushes its claws against the rocks to pull its head out and it turns to face the Tethys, jumping straight at it. Kassius aims his Cannon at the Warrior, launching a shell straight into its chest, the explosion launches the beast backwards and into the wall. The Warlord grabs the Shark by the side of the head and it roars, forcefully whacking it’s skull into the wall so hard that cracks spread up across the bone, black smoke spilling out from the wound, and the body begins to turn to smoke. The Warlord sharply turns with a snarl and looks at the Tethys, and with its regenerating tentacle, it wraps the tendril around the body of the Submarine, pulling it towards its clawed hand. Sun turns and he aims his turret at the head of the Warlord.

“Eat this, bitch!” Sun shouts, launching a shell into the skull of the Warlord. The Warlord’s head completely explodes into little pieces, black smoke spilling into the seawater and eventually the whole body turns to that stuff. The Warrior crawls across the roof, the spines glow with bioluminescent energy, deep sea monsters tend to have this kind of effect. That makes the creature easy to track, and it lunges at them again. The Architect moves back and just misses the creature, and it crashes into the ground with force. All four completely level the Warrior, leaving nothing left after their barrage. The Architect looks around for the tunnel that they both fell into.

“We have to find them!” The Architect tells them.

Weiss and Neptune float down and they hit the floor of the smaller cave. They both land and they are breathing erratically from fear, looking around for the Tethys. They look around, and their eyes widen in horror when they realise what they have landed in. The bones of whales and other animals that they have slaughtered. Except these are not the prey of the Krastax they met before. Weiss gasps when she looks at another tunnel and out of the shadows she sees a pair of red eyes that glow bright, fixated on them. It has a long head with the same kind of mandibles appearing as it walks out with a pair of sharp Mantis-Like Claws that fold out from its arms. It twitches its head fitfully as it approaches them slowly, gigantic in comparison, the Krastax are the height of some buildings.

These are what exist in Remnant’s Dark Depths.

Why no one ever comes down here.

The creature approaches and it strikes so much fear into Neptune that he is starting to feel light headed as it glares at him like that. It prepares to slash them with the blades, but the Mantis turns and roars at another Krastax that emerges from the sand and bones beneath it. It stands up, sand falling from its broad shoulders. This Krastax has a pair of long bladed arms and it swings straight at the Mantis, but the Mantis defends itself by grabbing its blade with its hook. It pulls down and bites its neck as it fights. Weiss holds Neptune and her eyes focus on the tunnel that she saw the Mantis coming out from. They look back and they see the Stalker grabbing the Mantis by the throat and lifting it in the air and then bringing it down hard on the ground with a bellow. The Mantis shrieks as it hits the ground but it swipes its bent arms hard across its legs to trip it over. It then jumps onto the chest of the Stalker and starts to bite with its mandibles over and over. Black smoke spilling from every chunk of armour that the creature rips off. “Neptune! Come on!” She ushers, holding his hand to get him to move towards the tunnel where they saw the monster emerging from.

Neptune shakes the fear off, something that thing did got into his head to make him light headed, but he seems to have shaken it off now and he follows his beloved towards the tunnel. They turn and see yet another Krastax monster charging out from the darkness towards the two Krastax that are attacking each other. The Brute is the largest one that they have seen, extremely muscular and has a huge pincer arm like that of a Scorpion’s Pincer. It’s body is extremely armoured and it picks up the Mantis and pulls it off the Stalker and slams the pincer down onto its thin waist and pushes down with all its might. The Mantis Screeches with agony, the screech is so loud it creates a small shockwave that hits their ears to the point their ears begin to bleed. The screech ends when the Brute grabs the Mantis’ head and rips it and the top half of its body in two. The body bursts into smoke and the Brute bellows at the injured Stalker which is already getting back up to fight the Brute. The Stalker sprints at the Brute and slashes its long blades across its face over and over, but it is not enough. The Brute punches the Stalker so hard in the head it causes the giant to do a full flip onto its back. The Brute smashes its fist straight into the skull of the Stalker, finishing it off.

The Brute turns sharply with a deep growl, sensing the vibrations of something swimming and it spots Weiss and Neptune retreating to the cave that the Mantis came from. The Brute bellows at them and runs directly at them to kill them, haunting them from the sight. “We’ve got your back!” Kassius promises. The Tethys descends down before them at the end of the tunnel  and the four cannons open fire at the Brute, launching shells straight at the monster over and over again. The explosions hit the creature in the chest, causing it to stagger backwards over and over again. Yang and Blake both fire a shell straight into the head of the Brute, and the Brute’s head shatters like glass, the black smoke goes absolutely everywhere like squid ink.

Weiss and Neptune throw themselves into the Airlock and the door closes. The Tethys ejects the water into a different part of the ship, and then sends it back into the sea. They stumble inside of the Submarine, pulling their helmets off and they sit down, shaking with terror in each other’s arms, Nora, Jaune and Ren run over to their sides. “You alright?” Jaune asks them, hands on their shoulders.

“D-Don’t ever – let us – d-do that again.” Neptune begs them.

“I – think I’ve developed a fear of the ocean as well, now.” Weiss admits, and now none of them think the fear of water is that ridiculous anymore. The water holds some pretty horrifying things.

“We’re not done yet! Another Warlord!”

 

**Yang**

The Warlord climbs up the side of an old Arkhoni Church tower with what looks to be a massive Bow in its hand. With the tentacle, it wraps around the bowstring made from kelp and it launches an arrow straight at the Tethys. The Tethys moves out of the way, just in time as well. The arrow darts right past their heads, air bubbles trailing behind the arrow as it moves through the water with ease. “That was close!” Kassius exclaims, aiming his turret at the Krastax Warlord that stands on the roof of the ancient building. It roars at them and then draws another arrow and aims at them again. He fires the shell into its head, killing it instantly from the impact, causing the body to fall through the roof of the building with a heavy bang. A Warrior climbs across a building ahead of them and it jumps straight at them with a roar.

“Incoming!” The Architect warns.

Sun launches the shell into its chest, killing it instantly from the impact. The corpse floats to the ground as they make their way through the rest of the city. After that Warrior, however...it seems to be quiet. Nothing left on the sonar map that could be dangerous, only shoals of fish to mention. But they are no threat. They might have just taken down the rest of the Krastax monsters in here. But then they realise why.

They look up at the surface.

There is a storm.

They have made it to the storm barrier. “Everyone...we’re here.” The Architect announces. Neptune sighs with relief, and the Tethys floats underneath the storm, and as they hoped, there is actually no resistance. No ridiculously extreme current alteration from the powerful winds somehow.

“I was not expecting the trip to be that...hard.” Yang states.

“Well...they call it the Cruel Sea for a reason.” Kragen says to them all with a chuckle. For that name was earned today.

Suddenly there is a bright flash where the storm is, not a lightning bolt. Something more, longer than that.

 

**Ruby**

They have no idea that above them, the Drift of Wandering Star has arrived at the Storm Wall. They have brought Ruby out to the roof of the vessel and Salem stands tall at the very front with Ruby behind her in shackles like some kind of animal. The rain batters against them and the swirling storm wall is one hell of a sight to see. Lightning constantly flashing and winds so harsh they could tear a fleet apart. And that is why they have brought Ruby, the last adolescent Silver Eyed Warrior left on the planet. She groans in distress from the rainwater that drips down her cheek, shivering from the cold. “The time has come.” Salem says, turning round. The Knights of Grimm also stand behind her with their weapons in their hands. She nods to Fear and he smirks as he approaches Ruby. Death looks at Fury as he stands there, he is tense, ready to enter that island.

“Fury...” Death says, getting his attention, the burning Knight looks at him. “Are you ready to be reunited with your trove of treasure?” He asks him, and Fury smirks, nodding his head.

“I have been ready for a long time. Now I can finally touch it again.” He excitedly says, staring at the storm. Death stands beside Ruby and then Fear forms the Nightmare Toxin in his hand as he looks at Ruby.

“It takes something horrible for you to use your powers, doesn’t it, Miss Rose?” He chuckles, holding his palm out and blasting the toxin into her nose, eyes and mouth, showing her some of her greatest fears before her eyes. She starts to shake her head, but the worse they become she begins to scream. Seeing her sister die, her uncle die, her father die, everyone she has ever loved dying constantly around her. Fear continues to terrify her, and it takes some time, but eventually...

Ruby screams with rage and horror, her eye opens and the other eye also blasts the same light from it. Even without the eye, the Silver Eyed Power still bursts from her scarred face and as they hoped, it splits the storm open like the knife into flesh, opening it for them. Her screams echo across the landscape as she forces it. She then shakes her head in pain from the nightmares, and the beam of light carves across Death’s chest and he roars in pain, staggering back. The shadows across his body fade for a moment, revealing the steel grey metal underneath and he growls in pain. The Drift of Wandering Star enters the island, and Death strikes Ruby in the side of the head so hard it knocks her unconscious. “Get her in the cell.” He orders, still in real pain. He looks at the darkness as it returns to his body, scorched armour from the wound.

His weakness is clearly one simple thing.

Light.


	42. The Volcanic Chain Isles

**Yang**

Lightning and thunder repeatedly crashes constantly across the island, rain hammering down from the sky with immense winds blowing into them, the plant life that is somehow still alive after all these years and the ancient pier that they have found. The pier has mostly collapsed into the sea, the supports shattered from incoming waves that snap them in half. The Tethys surfaces and floats towards the ground, the hatches open up and Yang is the first one to step out of the Submarine. She stands tall, looking around the area with awe at the island. Amazed that they actually made it here. Weiss and Blake follow after her and she looks up, rain hitting her face constantly as she stands there. The flash of lightning reveals the silhouette of the Drift of Wandering Star as it moves across the sky, searching for a place to land, a couple of Bullhead Dropships flying out of the ship’s hangers to drop soldiers into the field. She can even spot the outlines of the Nevermore, Bat and Wyvern as they fly around the sky, but the howling winds conceal their roars in the distance. Her hair has gone from being dry to drenched through in mere seconds.

She wipes the water from her face, even beginning to shudder from the icy cold feeling of the rain trickling across her skin. Her eyes then focus on the thick, bright beam of constant lightning that shoots into the sky from a huge tower on the side of the tallest mountain. The thunderous bangs and cracks from the Barrier Generator Spire are so loud that they can feel it in their hearts. Blake turns to Yang as she holds Gambol Shroud in her hand, spinning the Katana through her fingers, the string blowing in the violent winds. “Well...nice day out.” Blake comments with a smile on her face. Weiss walks in front of Yang and she points at the tower with the tip of Myrtenaster.

“Looks like _that_ is our control tower.” Weiss states as she looks at it from where they are on the bouncing Submarine. Yang follows the edge and she looks at it with the Schnee.

“Yeah...looks like it.” She agrees, having to speak louder than normal so then Weiss can hear her over the storm. Kassius climbs out and stands beside Yang whilst the others make their way out as well. He holds Lash Equinox in both hands, the blades folded outwards and he cracks his neck.

“No turning back now, I guess.” He says, jumping off the Tethys and onto the pier, landing on the hard surface on his feet. He looks back at them and he nods, walking forward to check if there are any Grimm around here. He holds his metal hand up to shield his face from the rainfall that batters across his face. The constant rain is hard enough to knock someone over from how much of it there is. He looks around, both his and Hyde’s eyes search the area for the existence of any of the monstrous Grimm that they have heard so much about. But the darkness from the storm clouds has made the island seem to be in a constant cycle of darkness, and the howling winds and thunder does not make it easier. He turns to them as they all disembark from the Tethys, walking towards him. “The storm is too thick! We’ll never see Grimm coming at this rate!” He calls, shouting over the wind. Kragen walks with the Architect, his weapons at the ready in his metal hands. Kragen looks in one direction and he points with his staff.

“This way! Follow me!” He calls to them, running towards some kind of shelter not far. Bushes have grown over it, water trickling down the walls and into sewers that must have been built underneath the island. He approaches it and he tears the bushes away, the Architect helps with his strong metal arms. The branches and roots are torn open and from the ground with ease, thrown aside extremely quickly. Behind it all, is a door, and only now do they notice that this is no huge hill. It was once a large building, the statues still stand but have been overgrown in the thousands of years that they have been left abandoned. The Architect throws his shoulder into the doors and the old wooden doors smash open with a painful bang. He stumbles inside and he looks around. The wind screeches as it enters the huge building, and the others all rush inside to get into the dry. When everyone is back inside, Qrow and the Architect force the doors shut and Sun finds a log that is strong enough to keep the doors secure. The building rattles from the barrage of wind that hits the building, the rumbling of rain across the building can be felt all the way through.

Yang wrings her long blonde hair out with her bare hands to get all the rainwater out, the water ejects from her luscious yellow hair and onto the floor. Weiss looks at her white dress which has no become grey from being drenched all the way through by the water. Blake shakes her head like a cat, throwing water everywhere, onto Sun’s bare chest as well. He is shivering up a storm right now and he looks at Jaune who has a puddle in his hood. “Bet you’re regretting your choice of clothes now.” Jaune chuckles.

“N-Nope! I’m warm!” Sun stutters as he shudders constantly. Jaune chuckles as he walks past him and over to Kragen who is looking at the statues that stand tall. The ancient Knights, just like the ones back at the Silver Eyed Warrior Sanctuary before, the exact same design. Jaune looks at it, and then at the eyes of the old Warrior who stands there with his staff in his hands.

“Hey? You good?” Jaune asks him.

“Yes...it’s just...some old memories are returning slowly.” Kragen tells him as he stands there. He sits down on a lump of stone that has fallen from the ceiling years ago. These are some impressively sturdy structures to survive in this kind of weather for thousands of years.

“Good or bad?” Jaune asks him.

“Bad...mostly.” He answers, hearing the distant screams of people in his head as he stands there. Like the ghosts are still in pain from when he failed them. He sighs as he wipes the water from his face and throws it on the floor, from his grey beard as well. His gravelly voice has never sounded so old and wise until right now. He looks at his staff as he turns it in his fingers. “Do you know what the Silver Eyed Warriors forged their weapons from?” Kragen begins, looking up at him and Jaune shakes his head.

“No, not at all.” Jaune answers. Everyone turns and they walk over to their old friend who begins to tell this secret to them. One that is clearly very personal to him.

“From a very rare metal, called Isomacium. Not much of it left in the world after the Arkhoni harvested it from every known mine on the planet.” Kragen explains as he looks at the black metal, merged with ebony wood as well. It is a beautiful weapon that he moves round carefully. “The strongest metal known to man, nothing could break it. But that was not the valuable factor.” He states, his eyes glow and their eyes widen with amazement when the ancient Arkhoni Markings across the staff glow the same colour of silver as the energy passes into the weapon. Silver mist forms around the staff as he holds it, and he looks over at them.

“The metal can absorb your powers?” Weiss asks.

“More like carry it, a Silver Eyed Warrior is capable of pushing their own strength into it for it to carry that power, whilst the warrior takes time to recuperate their strength. Others however learned to use the metal in a similar way but for their semblances if they did not have the same coloured eyes. Some made weapons, some made armour...some even made their bodies out of the metal to...carry on.” Kragen explains, closing his eyes with grief in them, or guilt as he walks around after he gets up. Jaune follows him as he walks around the room.

“Wait, what do you mean? Carry on?” Jaune asks him as he follows the old man. Kragen approaches one of the walls which has a faded painting on it of warriors battling against a never ending swarm of Grimm coming out of the ground to kill all life. He then turns to Jaune and the energy is still glowing in his staff.

“They replaced their flesh and skin with Isomacium to attempt to live forever...and it worked, in a way. A way that they never expected.” He explains to him, seemingly terrified from his memories. “My people – we attempted countless methods of immortality. This worked but it sacrificed our soul and resulted in the creation of abominations that were left behind...and one of them still follows us today.” He explains.

“Why are you telling us this?” Weiss asks him, stood next to Jaune, Neptune by her side with Trishula in his hand as he stands there, also listening to the old Warrior.

“Because I have just remembered why few leave this place alive. A secret I buried away because I could not bear it. We were trapped here, when we came for Axzura, trapped for nearly a full year. Our Vanguards went missing on their search for the Captain, and many of our Warriors were going insane from the lack of food on the island. We had a forge on our ship that was wrecked, men used it and began pouring molten Isomacium across their bodies in an effort to become immortal. Their souls were transferred into the bodies left behind, but they had a purpose on their minds for some reason. To protect the Relic that we found here at _all_ costs. Their beliefs, choices...everything was lost. For years I never understood how, and when I gave up on trying to find out I tried to hide it from my own memory. But now...it all makes sense.” He realises.

“What makes sense?” Neptune asks him again.

“The Relic of Choice, Neptune. The Relic of Choice, somebody must have used it to turn those men who did that out of desperation into Guardian Knights. Ever since...they have been trapped here and have been protecting the Relics at all cost.” Kragen reveals and their eyes widen with fear, Oscar turns and he looks up at the Statue of a Silver Eyed Knight with the sword pressed into the ground. And then...it all comes to him in one rushing moment.

_Non Silver Eyed Warriors could use it to harness their semblances with the metal!_

Oscar turns and looks at him with wide eyes. “Krekras Blackridge...” Oscar gasps with his theory on his mind, and Kragen looks at him with saddened eyes. He remembers what Oscar had told him, about being helped by Blackridge when he was taken back in time to see the land of the Arkhoni for himself. “You said one has been following us...is that...”

Before he can even finish. “Death.” Kragen answers, and Oscar gasps with horror. It all makes sense now.

Krekras Blackridge became the Knight of Death

Rylen Vazquez became the Knight of Fear

Starla Schnee became the Knight of Loss

Captain Wymerus became the Knight of Vengeance

And Captain Axzura Vex became the Knight of Fury

Krekras Blackridge’s armour looked so familiar to Oscar, but he never expected it to be made from such a metal, his soul being bound to the armour itself, being shrouded in shadows. That is why he wears armour unlike the others, whilst Fury is the spirit of anger. “His armour was made of Isomacium?” Oscar questions.

“It was, he did not have Silver Eyes, this is true, but he managed to bind his Semblance with it. His soul must have been bound with it as well when he became a Knight of Grimm.” Kragen explains, and Oscar nearly falls over from the horrifying realisation. He always suspected the links with these people he met, but he never wanted to believe that the same man who saved him is the same being that is trying to kill them now.

“What was his semblance?” Nora inquires.

“Ironically – he could turn into one’s shadow and teleport behind them. It made him a very efficient warrior.” Kragen explains, shocking them. And it also explains why his armour is shrouded in shadows.

“When I fought Death once, he stood under a lamppost and he became weakened for a moment. I managed to do some damage to his armour.” He explains.

“Maybe his semblance has made the armour indestructible until light is shone upon it.” Kragen presumes, and perhaps that is their best course of action against the Knight of Death when they come to fight him.

“That explains a lot...” Oscar mutters, and the Architect walks over to him as he hears him.

“Explains what?” The Architect inquires.

“When I was imprisoned with Ruby, when I first used my Semblance, I tried to find a way out for Ruby and I, but Death caught me. He could have killed me...but he didn’t. He even covered for me.” Oscar discloses for them to understand, and the Architect looks at Kragen who walks over to the young boy.

“Maybe he remembered you. He was once a hero, wanted to save lives.” Kragen explains.

“And now he takes them.” He says. “Rylen wanted to rid people of their nightmares in his plays, and now he gives them. Starla wished to make people happy when in pain, now she makes them sad...” He lists.

“What about Fury?” Blake inquires, but Axzura was the one individual that he never met when taken to Arkhonex on that fateful day. Oscar sighs and he shakes his head.

“I never saw him, only heard about him.” Oscar tells her, and thus they are being left in the dark. So the Belladonna turns to the Silver Eyed Warrior and she walks over to him.

“What do you know about Fury?” She asks him.

“I remember a few things. He was obsessed with his damn treasure trove, if the man is still in that demonic body of his. He has come to reclaim that treasure.” Kragen explains, a loud lightning bolt makes them all jump and they start to look around the room erratically from the sudden bang that shockwaved through all of them. Yang walks around and she looks through the cracks in the building. There is something out there, deep red glows darting across the area as they protect something. Growling deeply. She gasps and steps away from the crack in the wall, turning to them.

“Something’s out there.” She reports and Kragen’s eye flits up to the roof where he can hear something faintly walking around. His Silver Eyed Senses are stronger than just his eyes, his hearing has become acute as well, and as well has Adam’s. The man is blind, so his hearing has improved greatly. He draws Wilt and Blush and he looks up at the ceiling as well.

“Keep your eyes peeled, something’s about to attack.” Adam warns as he walks around. They all ready their weapons, keeping their eyes on the ceiling. Suddenly a bony arm bursts through the old stone ceiling with a sword in its hand. Sun’s eyes widen when he sees the arm, the first one of these he has ever seen before. The skeleton falls from the ceiling and falls down before them, still wearing the chainmail armour that it war when it was alive. It stands up with black smoke trailing from the body and it roars as it runs at them.

“Holy hell! What the heck is that?” Sun yells with fear.

“Spiritus Sanctus!” Kragen shouts as he swings round with his staff, still charges with Silver Aura and it impacts against the skull of the Skeleton. The impact launches the Geist from its body, freezing it in stone from the power of the silver energy. The rock hardens and the howl fades away. Blake points Gambol Shroud’s Magnum at the frozen Geist and pulls the trigger, launching a bullet directly into the body, causing it to explode. She spins her sword round and looks around. “There shall be more...they know we’re here now.” Kragen warns them as he walks around the room, keeping his eyes everywhere. The groans of the dead howl from around them, frightening them to their core of how unholy it sounds to them. More of these old rotten away knights start to fall from the ceiling and crashing down before them, their skeletons controlled by the Spectral Grimm. One of them roars and sprints straight at Sun and he blocks the cutlass with Ruyi Jingu Bang, holding it up sideways and it swings at him again. He rolls out of the way and he smashes his staff against its spine, causing the backbone to shatter like glass. But that does not seem to destroy the skeleton, it keeps on attacking. He detaches the shotguns and he starts to fire them repeatedly at the Skeleton as it runs at him. As each shell hits the skeleton’s body, bits of the skeleton fly off. The arm is blown from the shoulder, but a red glyph forms and the black clawed arm extends from the shoulder, slashing at him. Sun’s eyes widen and he rapid fires them until there is nothing left on the skeleton to fight.

Weiss forms a glyph behind her back and she jumps and presses her feet to the glyph, shooting towards it like the arrow from a bow. She slams the long blade of Myrtenaster into the soft skull of the skeleton, the blade protrudes out from the back of the horrific entity’s head. She drags the body across the floor, then the Geist bursts from the body with a ghoulish howl, slashing its clawed hand at her face. She swiftly ducks and then forms a Glyph that shoots a quartet of icicles into its body. Sun gasps when a similar event happens for the Skeleton he just took out, the Geist leaves the remains and swings its claws at him, attempting to flee. But when it tries to fall back, he batters the mask like head with his weapon, taking it out quickly.

Strangely enough, after that there is nothing. Only three of the Skeletons attacked them. Now there is nothing but the roaring wind and the storms that continue to crack over and over again above them, the walls rattle like crazy as the winds batter against them. Every now and then, as a forceful gale hits the structure, dust falls from the ceiling. The Skeleton Incursion has caused the building to be much more unstable than it already was. Yang looks at the state of the old building, and then her eyes focus on the old Warrior. “This place isn’t gonna hold. We need to leave!” Yang tells him, he looks at her and he points at a pathway through some corridors.

“Follow me.” He orders, walking towards it and everyone follows me. A Skeleton rises up from the place where it died after another Geist flies into it with a howl. The Skeleton snarls and swings its sword directly at Kragen, and without any expensed effort, he wallops the undead being across the head so hard that the round bone skull shatters instantly, like glass, into tiny fragments. He brings the other end of his staff round and immediately takes out the Grimm Geist that attempts to flee, killing it instantaneously. He keeps walking on and then they all slow down when he does. He stops before a doorway and he touches his hand against it, his eyes glow silver and it opens the door. “How did you do that?” Yang inquires.

“The Arkhoni had more Silver Eyed Warriors back then, to get to the most secret of areas, one would be needed to open the way.” He explains as he uses his eyes like torches, looking around as he walks in. Blake can see perfectly fine with her night vision senses, looking and listening to her surroundings. Steps move downwards into caves beneath them, and they start to walk down into them.

“More catacombs?” Qrow groans.

“Yeah...I think I’ve had my fill of them.” Winter agrees with a shudder.

“Well – I guess we have to face one more.” He tells them, as he walks down and into the caves, looking around and taking the first step into the area. He holds his staff dear as he walks, the rumbling of the storm can still be heard out there. Heavy rumbles and quakes like it is some kind of Earthquake.

“Where does this go?” Weiss inquires.

“A shortcut.” Kragen promises.

“A shortcut to what?” Nora asks.

“To the chamber, the Knights never used it when they were here previously. And since none of them where Silver Eyed Warriors, none know of this passageway.” He explains, he stops and turns to them all with a smile. “Except for me.” He says, moving on, which has also given them a further element of surprise. The darkness is quite unnerving, and anything could be lurking in these shadows that they have no idea is watching them. Creatures of Grimm follow them in the shadows, growling deeply as they move around the area, growling faintly. Blake’s ears turn and then she turns her head with widened eyes after she hears the growl behind her. Sun stops and he holds her hand, keeping her close so then he does not lose her.

“Hey? What is it?” He asks her.

“Something’s in here.” She whispers.

“Of course there is...stay on guard, we need to keep moving.” Sun tells her, pulling her away from the darkness. The sound of stone scraping can be heard as they walk through the catacombs. The catacombs start to get larger and before they know it, they have entered a large room. Kragen looks around and he stops, turning to the Architect and he nods.

“What things could be on this island, by the way?” Jaune asks curiously.

“Well it seems the Spiritus Sanctus Grimm is here.” Kragen answers with a shrug. “But there are massive beasts on the surface...but there is a danger in here that only lives underground and in catacombs. We did not see any of them back at Library, but this Island Chain is renowned for being a Death Trap.” Kragen explains.

“What’s in here?” Kassius asks.

The Architect’s arm shifts into some kind of firearm and he aims it at the ceiling, firing it with a loud bang and a flare shoots out from the chassis and into the sky. The red flare bursts and ignites into an extremely bright glow as it slowly floats down. They all gasp when they see what are in here. Statues and Mummies scattered absolutely everywhere. Yang’s eyes widen when she sees the statues everywhere, and she instinctively holds her boyfriend’s hand, staying close to him. Kragen chuckles in awe when he looks at them all. “Of course...the Maze of the Dead...” He sighs.

“The Maze of the Dead?” Adam questions, unable to see any of this.

“The Arkhoni once built a city here, but everyone was killed by the Creatures of Grimm that defended this place, so they attempted to live underground.” He explains.

“Like the people of Mountain Glenn.” Blake remembers with a shudder. They will never forget the horrors of that poor city and all those who died there, but this place is much worse. The city has been fossilised into the ground itself. They are also beneath sea level, there is even a large pool in the middle of the old city where it feeds into the ocean. After what they have been through, they would not want to go back into that ocean. It would be much nicer to go by air after the Storm Barrier is shut down.

“Exactly.” Kragen agrees as he looks around. “But the creatures are very dangerous here, and they managed to wipe the inhabitants out as soon as the lights failed.” He explains.

“What do you mean?” Ren asks.

“Ever heard of Gargoyles?” Kragen asks them, turning to them. Qrow nods as he holds his sword on his shoulder.

“Yeah, Bat-like people right?” He asks.

“A myth.” Raven corrects.

“Yes, and so were the Knights.” Kragen states. “The Gargoyles are more than Bat-People, they are very much real and I can promise you that they are hiding in this cave somewhere. They turn their victims to stone as soon as they kill them, creating more areas for them to hide. If you stare at them, they turn to stone as long as you look at it. They cannot be killed, unless you blow their statues to pieces.” He explains to them, and the explanation completely terrifies them. It all seems to make sense now of why nobody ever escapes this island alive. The creatures here along with the Storm Barrier make it an inescapable trap that nobody can get away from.

“By the gods...as if this all wasn’t hard enough.” Yang groans with annoyance.

“Well come on, we need to follow the path to get to the exit.” Kragen hurries, walking towards the bridge that goes over the large deep blue pool of salt water beneath them. They can still hear the snarls of the Krastax in there, they are patrolling the seas. Neptune looks down at the blue pool beneath him and he gasps. One of those Shark Krastax is in there, patrolling and watching them as they move. His eyes widen and he gasps.

“There’s a Krastax right under us!” Neptune warns.

Kragen stops and he looks down at the circling monster that completely dwarfs them, the sharp fins cutting through the water. The white and red colour scheme along with the black flesh underneath the armour. The body of the creature then moves down and back into the sea. It is moving in and out of the tunnels, patrolling.

Waiting.

“Just keep moving across the bridge.” He orders. And just to add to the tension, there is unexpectedly a huge explosion that comes from above, causing the rock to plummet down into the pool, which must have just summoned the creature to return. Their eyes flit up to the explosion and the hole that was created. Their eyes widen when they realise that the Acolytes of Lien have actually figured out that there is an underground network.

“How did they figure out our location?” Winter shouts as the soldiers land.

 

**Ruby**

The young girl is sat down in her cage, back inside the bridge with guns aimed at her. Death stands inside with the Dark Queen with her hands behind her back. Ortega has his finger on his ear after he receives a call from one of his soldiers. He answers it and stands aside. “Report!” He orders.

“The scans were correct! There is an underground cavern here! And they are here as well.” The soldier reports, gunfire echoing over the comms. Ortega’s face crumples into an angered frown as he stands there, clenching his hand into a fist. Ruby’s eye widens and a smile appears on her face of joy. Neo stands there and she glares at the young girl with anger, pointing the long sharp blade of her umbrella at her face, stopping that smile in her tracks.

“Damn it, then kill them!” Ortega orders.

“Yes sir!” The soldier agrees, the Admiral turns and looks at Salem who looks at him.

“Set us down, Admiral. We will take it from here.” She orders, turning to a table and picking up the two canes that hold the Relics that they already own. Death spins his sword through his fingers and he walks out onto the upper deck with her. He transforms into his Giant Nevermore Form and she climbs onto his back and he takes off with a roar, the Dragon follows with the rain battering against its armoured body. The other Knights follow and the Drift of Wandering Star scans for a safe place to land, whilst Salem makes her way towards the Chamber.

Ruby turns and her silver eye gazes at the furious Tyrian Callows whom is glaring at her.

None of them have any idea of a stowaway on the Vessel right now who is watching them with a hood over their head.

 

**Yang**

The soldiers drop down and they take cover around the area, shooting at their enemies before them. The bullets dart across the gap in the city, and the Krastax Shark returns, roaring as it leaps out of the water and towards the gunfire, clamping its huge mandibles together with a bang, only narrowly missing the rope bridge that they stand upon. The beast crashes down into the water with a heavy bang. One of the soldiers aims a missile launcher and aims it straight at the bridge, firing it. Oscar gasps and he tenses his muscles, kicking his Semblance into gear and he stops time for a moment, long enough to help out. He sprints past them on the bridge and grabs the missile whilst it is in the air. He holds the missile and turns it around in the air so then it is aimed back at them. He then snaps his fingers to resume time.

The missile shoots off and towards the soldier who carries the missile launcher, and the missile explodes right at his feet. The man screams as he his thrown into the air and plummets down towards the pool where the Shark waits for them. The Krastax spots the falling prey and it leaps out from the water and swallows him whole and crashes back into the sea, blood trailing from the mandibles as it swims. They all look at the magnificent death that the man just had. “Get to the other side!” Qrow orders. He and Raven transform into their bird forms and they fly towards the soldiers to provide support, Oscar does the same, slowing down time so then he can get there. Oscar darts towards one of the soldiers, dodging his bullets and then he jumps in the air, kicking against one of the statues and he punches the soldier in the head with enough force to resume time.

Raven and Qrow form back into their human bodies and Qrow kicks one of the Mercenaries in the head, causing him to fall onto his back, grunting from the impact. Qrow spins his sword through his fingers and deflects the punch from one of the Tremor Class Soldiers, absorbing the shockwaves from his huge gauntlets. Qrow stamps down on his kneecap and then brings his sword round towards his head and beheads the man in one classy swing. Raven chooses her green blade in her scabbard as it spins round and as she swings it at the soldiers, a powerful gust of air throws them all off their feet. She immediately approaches one who aims his sidearm at her and she cuts his arm off at the wrist, blood spraying out from the wound. The man cries out in agony but the other picks up his assault rifle and aims it at her. He nearly shoots until a time bubble surrounds the man, freezing him in that moment. Oscar runs over and he picks up one of the soldier’s submachine guns and unloads the whole magazine into the bubble, making it more unstable. All the bullets are collected at the same moment so then they all shoot at once when the bubble bursts. The capsule explodes and all of the bullets are thrown into the soldier, killing the man instantly.

The others run across the bridge as fast as they can to get to the other side as the Krastax makes another return, circling them from beneath to feast. The Shark watches and they can hear the snarls from beneath. They all rush as fast as they can, but that combined with the gunfire seems to excite the Krastax, and the creature roars, hurtling itself into the air and slashing the end of the bridge off with its tail, causing it to come loose and fall. They all jump and reach out to hang on. Neptune and Weiss hold onto the edge of the cliff where the bridge was once attached with widened eyes, panicking with their legs kicking as they hold on for dear life. Everyone else got across, except for them. They are both hanging on for dear life.

Soldiers start to run across the extra layers and they aim their guns at them. “I’ll help them!” The Architect promises, running towards them to help, taking a round to the shoulder in the process. The shockwave from the impact nearly knocks him off his feet but the mechanical man keeps on going. They all look at the soldiers that aim to stop the Architect and Kassius grits his teeth, loading the explosive rounds into Vulcan Nox.

“Keep them covered!” He orders, firing the missiles at the soldiers, dislodging more of the cave. The Krastax shark dodges some of the falling debris and it leaps at them, the metallic mandibles slamming shut just inches from their feet as it tries to kill them. Weiss yelps when she looks down and sees the monster coming for them. How can something that gigantic be so interested in something so small? The Architect reaches out for them, helping them up, but he takes another hit to the chest and he grunts with pain, sparks leaking from his injury like blood. Not dead yet, he can take much worse punishment. Kragen turns and sees that the Architect is struggling, so the old man sighs and he looks at the two big threats, the soldiers that are starting to be thinned out by the others, or the huge creature that is trying to eat them. He scowls and his eyes begin to glow immensely and he walks over to the edge of the cliff where he can see the pool. He waits for the monster to jump out again, and he can see it building up the jump. The huge tail wags to propel itself and it bursts out from the blue water.

The silver eyes suddenly burst out with a pair of huge thick white beams of light that blast straight into the chest of the Shark. The Krastax bellows in pain, stone forming across its body and eventually, completely freezing it. Just as Ruby did to the Dragon back at Beacon. All the scales harden and become restrained to stone. The corpse plummets in its frozen state, back into the sea, of which the impact causes the body to shatter into teeny tiny pieces that float up to the surface. White mist leaks from his eyes as he cools off, but his usage has weakened his aura, and being stood there makes him a target. A soldier points his rifle at the man who saw him using his silver eyes and he fires a bullet straight at him. The bullet clips his shoulder and he shouts in pain as blood leaks from his wound, falling to one knee for a second. Jaune turns, gasping when he sees Kragen injured, and he raises his shield to get in front of him, protecting him from the bullets that hit the shield and he helps get him to cover.

The Architect hauls the two up from their precarious position and he gets them in cover, grabbing the rifle on his back and he emerges from the pillar, firing a blue dust charged round into the chest of a soldier, killing him instantaneously. The soldier screams as he plummets down and crashes into the ground, all his bones breaking and bending in ways that they should never have bent in the first place. Blood spraying absolutely everywhere from the crashing incident. The two are a little shaken by what happened there, but with the current situation, they realise that they need to focus and they keep moving.

Yang grits her teeth with anger and she swings her fists, throwing missiles straight at the men, the explosions set them back into the shadows...

There is a loud crunching sound and everything stops.

The Mercenaries have stopped firing in that moment. Only now have they just realised...

The flare has gone out.

Only the light from lightning in the hole that they made is lighting the place up right now. There is a flash and they gasp from what they see. The soldiers have been turned to stone, frozen in their positions as they were killed by what was lurking in the darkness. Kragen’s eyes widen. “The Gargoyles have woken up...” He realises with fearful eyes.

“Where are they?” Yang asks as she looks around erratically.

“Stay together and make sure that when you see one you do not take your eyes off it...if you blink...we are dead.” He tells them.

“But we have our Aura unlocked! Surely that will save us?” Blake presumes.

“No, these things are too strong for Aura to protect us.” He explains fearfully as he looks around. The rain continues to fall into the chasm after the Acolytes blew it open, and they wait for the lightning to reveal them. The Architect cannot fire a flare, the rain will just extinguish it. Blake looks around, and then...

Lightning crashes and the flash reveals a terrifying image.

A Gargoyle stood right in front of Yang and Kassius. Yang shrieks in terror, stumbling backwards and she falls back with Kassius into a hole that slides into a different tunnel. Blake gasps when she sees Yang vanishing into the hole. “Yang!” She screams.

“Keep your eyes on the Gargoyle!” Kragen yells.

Yang has no idea of what the Gargoyle could have done to them, but they both bounce and tumble down into the dark pit that awaits them. Kassius grabs her and he uses his own body to soften the fall, crashing down on the floor. His armour protected him from most of the fall, but it still hurt quite a lot. He lays there with mud all over his body, water has found its way into this area and he turns his head, seeing an exit into the forest. He then looks at her, moving her blonde hair to check her beautiful face. A couple bruises but nothing serious, just mud all over her face. “Are you alright?” He asks her.

“Yeah.” She gets up and looks up at the hole that they fell through. “Blake? Weiss?” She calls, but she cannot hear anything from them. She stammers with fear, worried that she might have just gotten them all killed. Kragen warned them of the dangers of these things. But then she hears Kassius point something out.

“Yang...” He summons as he approaches a bizarrely familiar object sat in the mud right now. He crouches down and he picks up the weapon, looking at it. It is a single, long sword with two humps that are serrated. The circular guard is surrounded with golden metal and green light through the sword. “Isn’t this?” He begins.

“I know that sword...” She whispers with disbelief, but before the name escapes her mouth. They both look up and Yang screams in terror from what is stood right in front of them.

A Gargoyle.

Now spotted, it is literally a statue right now. It has a pair of stone bat-like wings that are folded outwards and a pair of arms with four fingers and single thumbs, just like a human’s, but it has talons. Its feet however are more bird-like with three talons instead of five like a humanoid. Its face is short and wrinkly with razor sharp teeth and black eyes. The markings of the Grimm are not glowing red right now and it is stone grey as well instead of black and white. “Do...Not...Blink...” Yang whispers.

Until a green glow appears from behind the Gargoyle, the sword before them darts in between its legs to its owner. The swords behind the creature spin round and a green ball of energy forms and blasts straight into the statue. They both jump and roll out of the way as the statue is completely vaporised.

They both look at who did that.

And they cannot believe their eyes.

Walking into the small cave is a short girl with orange hair, freckles on her cheeks and large green eyes. She has a hole in her side where wiring hangs out and some surface damage to her android body...but it is her. She salutes them with that big smile of hers. “Sal-u-tations!” Penny squeaks.

They are beyond speechless.


	43. Polendina Returns

**Kassius**

They both stand up, flabbergasted at what they are looking at. Yang’s eyes are bursting from their sockets when she looks at Penny as she approaches. She pinches her own arm to make sure that she is not hallucinating, but she feels the sharp rush of pain from her nails pressing together on her forearm. She gasps from the sudden pain and flaps her arm around to shake the pain out. Penny walks over to them, and the small female android has suffered some punishment in her repaired body. Her arm reattached, upper half of her body repaired and her legs put back together. However she has suffered a hole in her flank where cables are dangling out and scorch marks have been formed across her body. Some fabrics have been torn off in places but she does not seem overly bothered by it. Yang slowly approaches her and she looks at Penny. “Penny?” She cautiously asks, nervous in case if she is some kind of Merlot Trap. Luring them in to kill them, but it is definitely Penny from her mannerisms.

“Hello again, Yang! I’ve missed you!” She squeaks as she wraps her arms around Yang and lifts the much taller girl off the floor as she swings her back and forth in her hug. Kassius draws his swords, still unsure if this is to be believed. He knows of Penny because he saw the footage of Pyrrha accidentally tearing her apart with her semblance, due to Emerald messing with her head. Yang holds her hand out to Kassius, turning purple from being held so tight, as Penny always did.

“She does this.” Yang strains with tears being pushed from her eyes, like a sponge being squished to push the water out. It feels like a year until Penny releases her and Yang captures her breath again, hands on her knees, looking up at Penny. Yang is still bewildered right now. “How – How?” She stammers as she looks at her brand new body, walking around her and looking at her. She looks exactly the same, apart from the damage done to her from something.

“My father was very kind, he rebuilt my body completely.” Penny gleefully tells her, bouncing on her toes with a big smile. Kassius flicks Lash Equinox downwards, the blades fold back into the hilt and he approaches Penny. He is starting to come around, trusting her in the same way that Yang seems to.

“You father?” He asks her.

“Professor Merlot!” She happily answers, her head bobbing towards him and they both look at each other.

“Merlot built you?” Kassius asks her, Yang standing beside Penny, still trying to see if this is actually real.

“Yes! He said that I was destined to save the world one day! Seems the tournament was not that day.” Penny explains, shrugging from the memory of her _death_. Kassius looks at Yang and then at her.

“Penny, do you remember what happened?” Kassius asks her.

“Yes! Pyrrha Nikos accidentally used her semblance on me, somebody got into her head.” Penny explains, and they eyes widen in disbelief at how she really does know the truth of what happened to her. They both look at each other with just their eyes and then back at the small android.

“How did you know that?” Yang questions with a raised eyebrow.

“Because it happened to me.” Penny answers literally.

“No, the whole thing of her being tricked?” Yang corrects to make it clearer for Penny. Penny nods her head, understanding what they are asking of her now.

“I have diagnostics, and I detected that somebody was making her see things that were not there when I was about to launch my swords at her. I never expected it to lead to that, however.” Penny explains, looking down at the floor with guilt in her big green optics. Yang smiles as she places her hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know – and neither did Pyrrha.” Yang assures her. Penny looks up at her friend and she smiles sweetly. Yang then looks at the hole in her side and she then looks up at the face of Penny afterwards. “How did that happen?” She asks her.

“Oh nothing, just when I was sent here to examine the area in my pod, I got struck by lightning.” Penny says casually and Yang looks at her with widened eyes at how serious that would be for a human being. And she is just saying it is an annoying hindrance to her. “I don’t know why they – um...sorry what were we talking about?” Penny asks, and Yang’s eyebrows furrow when she notices her just completely forgetting everything that they just said. She scratches the orange synthetic fibres of hair as she stands there, looking at Yang. She gasps, her eyes widen. “Yang! Salutations!” She cheers.

“Uh – Penny? We were just talking.” Yang says. Penny looks at her with a confused expression.

“We were?” Penny questions.

“Yeah.” Kassius agrees. Penny touches the back of her head and she sighs as she feels something there.

“Oh! Of course, I must have lost it in the crash!” She giggles.

“Lost what?” Yang inquires.

“My memory processor, I can remember things but I forget things just as easily.” Penny explains, showing the missing plate in the back of her head and where the processor should be. She laughs and then looks at Yang. “I guess you could say I: _lost my mind!_ ” She jokes with a big smile. Yang has a very short but loud laugh that retorts in response to Penny’s pun. Kassius legitimately jumps at the sudden and short loud laugh that Yang made and he looks at her. She smiles at him and he sighs, rolling his eyes at the pun. Yang now has a new reason to love this little robotic girl who has returned from the...grave?

Kassius looks back at the cave that they fell from and he clenches his cybernetic hand into a fist, gritting his teeth. “No offense...but we’re wasting time.” Kassius says as he looks back at where the hole is. “Penny? Is there a way to get back up there?” He asks her. Penny nods and she starts to run towards the cave that she walked inside of, which goes outside into the rain and the bushes. Yang looks at Kassius and she nods, and they follow the little one outside into the rain. Penny walks through and she watches the area for any signs of Creatures of Grimm. She looks back at them and then points at a hill ahead of them.

“Up here, that is where that cave comes out. If your friends are still trapped down there, we can get to them through here.” Penny explains, walking up the hill. Yang catches up to Penny and walks with her. Penny clearly remembers everything, but her processor must make her forget things at time, but the memories return over time. “How’s Ruby, does she miss me?” Penny curiously asks, and Yang rubs the back of her head.

“Yeah...but Penny – did you know that your father has been helping capture her?” She asks her, and Penny’s eyes widen.

“Ruby’s been captured? My best friend is being hurt?” Penny queries with fear for her best friend’s safety. Not only that, but it further proves that she does have a soul.

“Yes, that is why we came here. She has been taken here to get them in, inside of one of those ships.” Yang explains to her, filling her up on everything she has missed. Apart from the bigger things, like what happened to Beacon after she was _killed_ and what has recently happened to Mistral. Unless she already knows, they’ve no idea of how long she has actually been repaired for.

“They must be taking her to the chamber, I examined it when I came here...I...can’t remember very well though.” Penny stammers, walking beside Yang. They walk up the hill, and when they get to the top, Penny stops them all with wide eyes. Yang and Kassius look at her, her hand stretched out to stop them, her huge eyes looking around the landscape where she has detected something nearby.

“Penny? What’s wrong?” Yang whispers to her, thunder claps every now and then do cause them to jump and be startled by it all. Penny turns to them and she hears the sound of heavy footfalls approaching.

“Grimm...I only just escaped it last time, get down.” She advises, going prone on her belly and the other two do the same, lying down on the muddy floor and wet grass. Yang keeps her hair behind her head so then she can see whatever is there. Her clothes are getting drenched, soaked through, and she is already shivering from the icy cold temperature. The footfalls reverberate through the soil, and then they hear the deafening bellow of the monster that has arrived at their location. The titan is a huge reptilian looking creature, as tall as an Aircraft Hanger with a pair of shorter arms and three claw-like fingers. It has a muscular and armoured body with huge Therapod legs, three sharp toes splayed out in the soil. It’s head is massive, covered in white armour and red markings and huge teeth to clamp down on its prey. Sharp jagged crests above its eyes as it stands there, short spikes run down its spine and to its long brawny tail.

Yang’s eyes widen in horror when she sees that thing. “Is that a Dinosaur?” She questions with horror.

“A Grimm Giganotosaurus...” Penny answers quietly, and the titanic creature walks around, sniffing the air, water running down its black and white body. Water splashing up from every step it takes in the area. “It nearly got me earlier...”

“How do you know what it is?” Kassius asks.

“Know what?” Penny asks.

“The Giganotosaurus.” Kassius repeats for her, her failing memory processor clearly having issues. It seems it is more like short-term memory loss rather than long-term. It makes sense, since she does remember things, but when in the middle of a conversation, she can completely forget what they just said. At least she remembers everything back at Beacon; she just needs to find a replacement processor to stop forgetting things so easily. She snaps back into action, remembering everything again.

“Oh, yeah right.” Penny remembers, shaking her head. “My father gave me information on some of the things in the world; this thing was one of them. A really rare creature of Grimm.” Penny explains to him, seems Merlot really did come prepared for her. But there is one thing on Yang’s mind with Penny’s situation right now.

_Why didn’t Merlot wipe her memories after he repaired her? There must be a reason for that; the man is not a fool._

But she does not say these things aloud because she does not know if they can fully trust her yet. The Giganotosaurus walks around, searching for anything to fight and it roars to the sky with fury, and it walks away from their location, the tail disappearing into the trees as it leaves. They were very lucky that the monster did not see them. Yang sighs with relief when it leaves; her eyes flit over to Kassius who is next to her. “Of all the islands Salem could be interested in...Why couldn’t it be a pretty one with no Grimm?” She sighs as she stands up, looking up at the swirling winds above her head.

“Sunny skies, blue seas, palm trees and coconuts.” Kassius adds with a chuckle as he walks with her.

“And we get this one.” She sighs.

“Just our luck I guess.” Kassius shrugs, and they continue to follow Penny towards the cliff face.

 

**Oscar**

They have been running as fast as they can, keeping their eyes on their surroundings. He stops time when he sees a Gargoyle in front of them. Whilst Yang and Kassius have been searching for a way back in with Penny, he has figured something out. Since they are extremely fast, their strength when being spotted does not work in this time. Meaning he can actually kill them as long as he slows down time. Of course, the Gargoyles are still stronger than he is and he will be weak after a while of using his Semblance over and over again. He sprints at the Gargoyle and the stone shatters around its form and it roars at him, slashing its claws straight at him. He jumps in the air and swings his fist right across the Gargoyle’s face. The Gargoyle grunts, snarling in anger as it rolls across the floor. It swings both its arms back, the wings on its back spread out and it bellows, flying towards him. As the Gargoyle glides towards Oscar, the Pine Boy grabs its wing and forcefully smashes it against the wall and kicks it off the edge, causing it to plummet into the sea. He ends his frozen point in time and he follows them. Neptune helps him up after he staggers from exhaustion. “Oscar! Come on! We need to keep going!” Neptune heartens for the boy and they run as fast as they can across the steps that keep on moving up and up and up.

Another Gargoyle appears in front of them but Nora yells, swinging her hammer across its body with all her might, causing the creature to explode into little pieces of stone that tumble down the edges of the cavern. Luckily they have some pretty heavy hitters down here that can completely blow their bodies to bits. Ren sprints extremely fast and an Acolyte of Lien stands behind a pillar and aims at him. Ren jumps in the air and he pushes both feet against the wall for a second jump, and he slashes both curved blades of Stormflower across the Mercenary’s chest. The Mercenary staggers, still alive from the attack and he tries to shoot. Ren roundhouse kicks the Mercenary, and finally jumps in the air, firing them both into his chest. The impact of the green dust rounds sends him flying off the edge and into the pool where the Krastax Shark was once patrolling. Ren lands on both feet and he keeps up with them.

The orange light from a lantern glows round the corner that keeps on moving up and up, hopefully towards an exit. The light is that of a flame, and when they turn the corner, Ren is smashed across the face with the lantern, throwing him against the wall. He looks at what held the Lantern, a Wraith floats down the steps. The hood shrouding its face and the monstrous roars coming out of its body. It holds the sword in its over hand and swings straight at him. Blake uses her semblance to throw a shadow in between them and the Wraith slices through the shadow. Blake sprints at the Wraith and jumps gracefully in the air, kicking it up the head and she zooms towards it to slash it with Gambol Shroud and its sheathe. However the Wraith is smart, it bursts into red flames and vanishes, appearing behind her, swinging the lantern and the sword in a pirouette attack. Blake deflects the attacks and rolls away from the Spiritus Sanctus. Jaune, Sun and the Architect stand behind them, keeping their eyes on their rear in case of any Gargoyles that try to intercept the battle and kill them whilst their backs are turned to them. One of the Gargoyles appears in the shadows after Jaune spots it, turning it to stone, it glares right into their souls with fury in its eyes.

Blake forms an ice shadow clone of herself just as the Wraith goes in for a second attack, pushing the sword forward to stab her in the stomach. But the blade until enters the shadow and the ice gets the Spiritus Sanctus stuck for a moment. Long enough for Blake to jump over it and slice her sword up its spine. Black smoke pours out from the wound, and it makes a haunting howl of pain from its wound. She goes for a second attack, but yet again, the Wraith vanishes elsewhere. It appears behind her and strikes her down the head with its lantern, making her go dizzy for a couple of moments. Sun hears her cry of pain and he looks back with worried eyes. “Blake!” He yells. When he looks back, there is now a second Gargoyle stood there.

The Wraith floats towards her to finish her off, until Kragen Nox rushes the Wraith with his staff and the Wraith vanishes in a burst of red flames and attempts to strike him the same way it did to Blake. But Kragen is clever and he knows their tactics. He uses the other end of his staff to deflect the blade and he dodges the Lantern with impressive speed. He charges his staff up with his eyes and he smirks, jumping into the air and with both hands he smashes the staff down onto its head to finish it off, white light passing into its ghoulish form, solidifying the shadowy being into stone. Winter runs at the stone and she slams her swords across them, destroying it once and for all. “Come on!” Kragen calls to the others who watch the Gargoyles. They run backwards with them and they keep moving as fast as they can. But the Gargoyles are just as fast; every time they look back they can see that they are right on them.

“They’re on our ass!” Sun yells.

One reaches out and grabs onto Jaune’s hood, stopping him in his tracks and he yells with horror when he feels the hood being tugged. Sun stops and he looks at Jaune, seeing him being restrained by the creature. He runs over to him, keeping his eyes on the Gargoyle that grabbed him. He was lucky he turned around when he did, because the Gargoyle was going to tear his jugular out with its teeth. He sprints at the Gargoyle and hits it with his staff, but it has no effect. Only chips the paint off its body. The Architect stops and looks back at Jaune, he sighs when he sees him there.

He runs over to him and with his sword he slashes the hood from the Hoodie, the Gargoyle’s grip being so tight that it was never going to let go. It still holds his hood now, and Jaune looks at him with shocked eyes. “My hood!” He gasps.

“I’ll buy you a new one! You were bound to grow out of it eventually.” The Architect tells him. They keep running, up these seemingly endless caves that eventually will find an exit.

And as luck will have it.

Light appears at the end of the tunnel where they are running and the snarls of the Gargoyles can be heard the closer and closer that they get to them. Ren rolls out of the way just when he notices one in front of him and he keeps on moving.

They all leap out from the cave, rolling and sliding across the mud after they got out from the caves. They all turn to the caves, staring intently to make sure that the Gargoyles are not chasing them, but they can hear their snarls getting further away, not going outside into the rain. Too many creatures out here that could spot them and keep them in their stone forms. Oscar sighs with relief, his body relaxes for a couple of moments and he rolls onto his back to feel the rain. He never thought he would be so grateful to feel the rain on his body like this opposed to the dry of the dark catacombs that they were just inside of.

He turns and looks at Jaune who is next to him. “Never thought I would miss the rain.” Oscar says to him, and Jaune chuckles as he does the same thing, letting the rain hit his face.

“Yep...never again...no more tunnels.” He slowly says with laboured breaths. He then touches the torn place where the hood used to be and where the threads are hanging from the black Pumpkin Pete’s hoodie. He then looks at the Architect who stands there, the rain trickling down his body. He suffered a few hits in there, but nothing his chassis cannot handle. “You cut my hood off!” Jaune yells with horror, wanting to pull the hoodie up but he can’t.

“Yeah, and you’re alive!” The Architect argues.

“My hood...” Jaune complains. If the Architect could show expressions through his eyes, he would be rolling them right now.

“Yeah, alive – that’s all I’m saying. Not even a thank you.” He chuckles as he walks around, all of them have noticed that he has become much more informal around them now. More fun and cheery than he usually was.

Qrow stands back up and he looks around the area to figure out where they are. “We need to find Yang and Kassius.” Qrow says to them all and they all start to get up. Little do they realise that they are indeed closer to their two missing friends than they actually know. Kragen’s eyes look forward and he sees that the only thing that stands between them and that tower now is a rushing river and some trees. There are some toppled over trees across the river rapids that they could use to their advantage. Kragen points with his staff at the area he has just noticed.

“Those trees will help us get to the Storm Barrier Generator.” He explains, looking at the tall spire with lightning shooting out of it.

“So remind me...how will we be taking it down again?” Weiss asks.

“You have your dust crystals, right?” He asks her and she nods, holding up a bag that she brought with her with plenty of dust crystals that she can use. “Good, when you get there, throw them into the core, it will cause it to explode.” Kragen explains, pointing at the centre of the tower on the hill that they need to get to. Weiss looks at it, and then at Kragen and she nods.

“Okay...” She agrees.

“Kragen, they sent Mercenaries after us when we were in the caves. They must have had a deep underground scanner on that ship that detected us. We’ve lost the element of surprise; they know we’re coming for Ruby. They will have people guarding that tower.” Qrow explains to him, even pointing at the ship as it begins to land in front of the largest mountain to deliver cargo. Most likely to drop Ruby off, for whatever use she will be at the end of all this.

“I know, Weiss cannot be going up there alone. And they will be sending reinforcements. Someone must go with her to the tower to defend her if they send anyone up there to attack. We will hold the rest off at the river.” Kragen explains.

The first person to volunteer to help her is one that creates a lot of irony from the past of their relationship. Jaune’s hand rises up, still holding Crocea Mors. “I will go with her.” He volunteers and she smiles at him as she sees his loyalty to her as a friend now. No longer trying to be a stupid flirt around her.

“That settles it then...Jaune you will go and protect her whilst she overloads the generator. We will hold the fort here.” Kragen explains, spinning his staff through his fingers. Weiss and Jaune walk towards the river, but before they cross, they hear a voice calling to them and they both turn.

“Guys!” Yang calls, waving her hand as she runs with Kassius towards them. They all turn to see their friends that went missing and they start to walk towards them. Until...something happens that makes Oscar’s eyes widen. There is a thunderous metallic horn that bellows from nearby and they hear the sounds of wood being crunched down and bent as something rises up. Water falls from its rusted metal body and it stands tall with four long and sharp prong-like legs. The weapon folds out from the body and it charges up, roaring at them with that horn. The legs create deep thrumming sounds from every single movement that it makes, stabbing down into the stones and soil that it stands upon, tearing up the ground. Oscar remembers seeing that exact same thing.

It is the Warden that walked past him and got aboard the same vessel that the Knights of Grimm took to come here. After thousands of years, it is still working and online...the Arkhoni really did build things to last. Both in structures and in their technology as well, they are able to remain working through the worst of conditions over years and years. “What the hell is that?” Sun yells with shock, backing up when he sees the huge thing rising up.

“It’s a Warden...I saw it when Time brought me back to their time!” Oscar informs and Kragen looks at him, realising that he really was taken back to their time, since he remembers this exact Warden as well they took with them to help fight Axzura and his men. The Warden prepares to attack, but then they all see her standing on the ridge of the hill, stood tall and proud.

“Hey!” Penny yells and the Warden looks up at her, snarling through the computerized sounds that are also glitching from the internal damage it must have suffered after all those years being dormant.

Weiss and Blake widen their eyes in disbelief. “Penny?” They both call out with shock and everyone else, except for Raven, Kragen, Adam and the Architect are just as shocked to see Penny alive, for most people saw it happen live on air or were at Beacon when it happened. The Warden charges up its cannon, loading dust into it to attack.

“Leave my friends alone!” Penny yells as she leaps at the Warden and lands on its face. The Warden fires the laser straight at where she was stood, vaporising the rock she was stood upon. The Warden shakes its head around and it staggers backwards, scraping its legs through the soil as it stumbles, roaring in anger and distress as Penny slashes it with her swords that come out of her back. The blades slice across its metal hide and she has figured out where the weak spot is, behind the armour is the internal circuits that if she destroys them, it will kill the Warden. She clambers onto it but the Warden screeches with anger, wagging its head around and it manages to throw Penny off its head, launching her into the ground. She bounces and rolls across the ground, and the Warden starts to malfunction, sparks pouring from the damages cables that hang from its ruined body. It even starts to spill fluids from its body as well as it twitches, and it gives Penny time to get back up and challenge it again. They want to help, but Penny seems to have this handled.

The Warden seems to repair the malfunction and it rises upwards and howls at her as she stands there, her fist clenched and her swords above her head as she glares at it. _Target Acquired._ The Warden moves extremely fast as it stomps towards Penny on the ground, like a massive spider that is trying to kill its prey. The Warden stabs its sharp leg down at where she is, able to skewer her if it stabs her, but Penny rolls out of the way, narrowly missing the attack from the angered Warden. The Warden does the same to try and hit her again, and she repeats her evasion. The eye of the Warden follows her after it rips the soil out of the ground and it walks across the fast rushing water to attack her the same way, it must have overheated its weapon systems after firing it at her. Penny steps aside from its leg and with all the blades being controlled like one, she slices the leg from the Warden’s kneecap, causing it to fall to the knee and a pained shrill erupts from its speakers. And yet the Warden is not about to give up.

Penny sprints back and with the power of using the energy blast behind her to thrust her towards the Warden and she smashes her body into the body of the Warden so hard that the Warden is smashed directly into the side of the cliff where they were inside of. The cliff where it hit cracks, rocks tumbling from the impact and Penny climbs up the Warden and she stands on its head, slashing the plates on its head over and over. She grabs the plate and pulls it back with all her might, straining as she pulls it back and eventually rips it off. Inside are the internal circuits that she needs to destroy. She floats her blades above the circuits and then launches them all directly down into the circuits to kill it. The Warden creates a deafening screech of pain, sparks bursting and pouring from where she threw the blades into its skull. The Warden’s chassis becomes stiff and it groans, falling forward. “Look out!” Qrow yells and they all get out of the way just as Penny throws herself from the head of the Warden. She hits the ground hard and rolls across the floor.

“Penny!” Weiss screams, running over to her with Blake and Yang. The three of them crouch down beside her, checking if she is okay. Her eyes open wide and she giggles with happiness, hugging Weiss and the Ice Queen gasps from her embrace. They all sigh with relief, seeing that Penny is okay. Penny releases Weiss and she sits up, checking the wound she suffered from the lightning bolt. It has luckily not gotten any worse, her aura is still able to be formed as it used to be. “H-How?” Weiss questions with disbelief.

“Merlot is the one who made her, he rebuilt her after Beacon and he sent her here. But her memory is...somewhat intact.” Yang explains briefly to them.

“ _Somewhat_ intact?” Blake asks with a raised eyebrow.

“She’s lost a memory processor. She remembers things but has short-term memory loss. It’s not too bad, she just has jumbled up memories.” Yang explains and Penny hops back up to her feet. She smiles and then bows to the new people she has not met with that smile with her eyes closed she always has on her. The Architect just raises his hand with a chuckle. Whilst they talk to Penny, Kragen turns and sees Oscar looking at the dead body of the Warden. Kragen approaches him and stands beside him, looking at the body as well. He has something on his mind, clearly.

“You saw it?” Kragen asks.

“Yes.” Oscar answers and Kragen crouches down beside the Warden and he sighs.

“I remember him...he saved our lives more times than I can count.” He begins and Oscar turns to look at him. “We set up camp and he had orders to protect the camp at all costs...we were escaping and we tried to wait for him, but a tree collapsed and landed on him. I thought he was destroyed...clearly he wasn’t. He has been fulfilling his duty ever since.” He explains to Oscar, looking around at the area.

“What do you mean?” Oscar asks. Kragen walks over to something on the floor, it has blended into the ground over the years but he can still see it. He pulls it from the soil and it is the fabric of a tent that was left here.

This is the same Campsite that it protected them at.

“Well...he fulfilled his duty, now he can rest.” Oscar says to him, and the Warden that can finally rest in peace. Kragen looks at the body, and he remembers what he heard Nora saying to Ren once. About Jaune’s moment at the lake and the grave of his sister.

“At least he has water.” Kragen says, turning and walking back to the others.

 

**Weiss**

Weiss readies Myrtenaster, she knows that there is going to be some resistance up there. And they are likely to send soldiers after them to stop them from shutting down the Storm Barrier. Once that barrier is down, all out war will begin and they will make their charge to find Ruby and bring her back home. She walks towards the hill with Jaune and he looks at her, nodding. “Come on, let’s go.” Weiss says. They walk up the hill to where they need to do their work, the rain and wind blowing against their faces. It is icy cold as always in this horrible environment. The trees groan and creak as they are pushed back and forth in the powerful winds. They have to push themselves against the storms to get up there as fast as they can. Jaune uses his shield to protect himself and Weiss from the storm. So they keep moving and moving as best as they can.

But they have noticed something about where they are right now.

There has been absolutely no resistance whatsoever. This is making them afraid of an ambush lying in wait for them.

They walk towards the entrance which is a huge cliff face that hangs into a deep lake by the land that they are on. At least it is not into the ocean, or the volcanic flesh that lies within the island itself. “I don’t like this...” Weiss whispers to Jaune as she walks with him.

“I know. We should have encountered something by this point.” He responds. As they get closer, they can see the rails that are channelling the lightning through it, clouds forming inside that create the storms. It is extremely loud, a deep thrumming sound that never ends. Jaune lowers his shield, and his eyes widen, and so do Weiss’.

Sun was right.

Stood before them is Pyrrha. She wears her new Black and Gold armour that is more compact and fully armoured across her body opposed to her old one that showed more skin. Her fabric sashes blow in the aggressive winds and the water blows against her long red hair that dances in the wind. She scowls at Jaune, an expression that neither of them have ever seen before. Weiss stands there, horrified and shocked by the sight of Pyrrha Nikos being stood right in front of her.

She never heard she was alive by Jaune, Sun or Blake. Now she knows the truth, and she holds Milo and Akuou in both hands, ready to fight them.

To stop them.

“People are going to die Pyrrha...” Jaune warns, and he is not just talking about Ruby. If Salem gets her hands on all of the Relics, then the world will come to an end. Perhaps even the Shivering Dominion will be forged as well. The never ending blizzard, the end of time itself. “...I can’t let that happen.” Jaune says to her, hoping to god that she won’t fight him. But he knows that she will, her eyes are still glowing orange.

Meaning the spirit of the Onyx Phantom still exists within her mind. “Please don’t make me do this, Pyrrha.” He begs, and her large eyes narrow, and he tightens his grip on his sword. He is going to have to fight Pyrrha Nikos. He looks at Weiss.

“I’ll distract her...destroy the tower...” He orders.

Pyrrha yells, sprinting straight at Jaune and he charges at her. They both swing their swords at one another.

They impact.

Sparks erupt.

The Fight of Arkos begins.


	44. Arkos

**Jaune**

Pyrrha slams Milo against Jaune’s shield; an almighty bang rings out from the impact with white light bursting from the flash. He is thrown backwards, grunting as he tumbles back and Pyrrha’s flaring orange eyes focus onto Weiss as she tries to run past her and to the Storm Barrier Core. Pyrrha throws Akuou directly at her and it hits her in the chest, knocking her on the floor. Weiss gasps and she crawls back when she sees Pyrrha leaping at her and slamming her blade down at where she was, narrowly missing by an inch. She picks Akuou back up and continues to attack her. Weiss bounces back up and with the assistance of a glyph, she darts straight past her and slices across her aura and goes to attack again. But Pyrrha shields herself with Akuou, proceeding to kick Weiss in the chest and back into the floor.

Jaune slowly gets back up, and his eyes focus on Pyrrha as she attacks Weiss. He grits his teeth and tightens his grip on Crocea Mors. He leaps at her and blocks Milo from hitting the Ice Queen, the impact resonates explosively across the area, sparks falling from the impact. Jaune looks at her and then at Pyrrha. “Go!” Jaune yells, taking a kick to the head again. Pyrrha stomps towards him and she yells, slashing straight across him with force, and he keeps rolling backwards to avoid them. Weiss – despite wanting to help him – keeps on running towards the tower.

The skilled Nikos Warrior leaps into the air and into a corkscrew attack with her blade pushed towards Jaune, and he has no other choice but to hold his shield up, sending him tumbling backwards. He groans as he rolls to a halt at the side of the ground, he is struggling to swing his sword at her, he is fighting in a defensive manner, but he knows he needs to start being more offensive if he is going to stop her, or even survive this battle. He is outmatched against her, but he needs to protect Weiss at all costs. He pushes the blade of Crocea Mors downwards in the soil and he looks up at her, standing tall once again and he pushes his shield forward with one arm, and in the other is Crocea Mors, pointed towards Pyrrha. She paces back and forth, gritted teeth with anger and hate in her glowing orange eyes. “Pyrrha...this isn’t you.” Jaune tells her, watching her move, even her footsteps do not belong to her. Then she speaks back to him, with vile anger in her tongue.

“Pyrrha Nikos is dead! There is only the Onyx Phantom!” She roars, zooming towards him and pulling her arm back and pushing Milo directly at him. Jaune rolls aside from her, only narrowly avoiding her attack and he swings Crocea Mors directly at her, but she uses her Polarity to push the blade of his sword aside. She spins round on the spot and extends Milo and slashes across his chest, knocking him back and then she aims the weapon at him as she fires a dust round into his chest. Jaune grunts, launched back again from the impact. He will be unable to make a dent in her...she’s the Invincible Girl.

Jaune looks at Weiss and sees her climbing up the tower to the core that is still online. Lightning constantly pouring from the tip of the tower and into the black swirling clouds above. The lightning feeds rage into the weather, flashes of light pulsates in the clouds constantly. Weiss looks back at him and he just nods at her, getting back up and Pyrrha sprints straight at him, yelling with rage. She jumps and slashes down at him, but Jaune smacks his sword across hers and they actually hit, creating the metallic bang from the impact. Jaune quickly raises his shield to block her attack and he swipes upwards with Crocea, hitting her aura and making her stumble. He can fight, he just needs to pretend it is the Onyx Phantom all over again, not think that it is her...

...but how? It looks just like her, it _is_ her and he loves her with all his heart. He struggles to swing the sword at her and she is using that love against him, just as Salem has been hoping to succeed in her plan. As if she knew he was going to be sent to help Weiss there. She smashes Akuou into his chest and he grunts, falling onto his back, and she presses her heel against his throat with force.

 

**Kragen**

Raven runs over to Kragen with Qrow and Winter by her side. “We need to secure this area, where do you need us?” Raven asks him, since he is the oldest and best strategist that they have on sight. Kragen focuses on the forest nearby and he points at it with his staff.

“Over there, be ready for when the Knights come for us. Qrow, take Neptune and Adam as planned. Set up the traps in the woods for when the Knights come here, you will also have the element of surprise against the Mercenaries.” Kragen orders, and Qrow nods to him, whistling to Neptune and Adam. Neptune turns and Adam stands back up, picking Wilt and Blush back up and spinning it through his fingers.

“What about me?” Winter asks.

“Go with Winter. We need to be spread out when they come. The rest of us will hold the main ground.” He explains. Winter nods and she catches up with Raven pretty fast.

He spins his staff through his fingers, watching the skies when he notices that there is movement. There are Bullheads headed straight for them, and something else. Two winged creatures roar as they fly towards them. One with a huge Draconid Body, black with bone armour sticking out across its huge body, and a smaller but still large Rotten Bat that glides around them. The Dragon descends towards them and breathes a cloud of flames towards them all, setting the ground on fire. “Get to cover!” Kassius yells, diving with Yang behind a rock and Penny hides with speed. They all jump out of the way as the Dragon makes its attack, screeching afterwards, banking round the mountains once more. The rain trails off its massive body and the skin ripples in the wind.

Kragen watches Fear as he flies away from them, and towards the huge tower with a roar in his voice. The massive bat flies straight at where Jaune and Weiss are working on and he gasps. He turns to Nora and Ren who are with him. “Fear is going after them!” He tells them, and without question they both start making their way towards where Weiss and Jaune are, despite being in serious trouble right now.

The Acolytes of Lien begin to land in the treeline to make their attack in the rain.

They’re running out of time.

They need Reinforcements.

They need that Storm Barrier shut down know.

 

**Jaune**

Jaune has his hands pressed against Pyrrha’s heel as she pushes down to suffocate him; he looks up at her, struggling to breathe as he looks at her. He can feel the sharp metal heel pinching against his skin on his neck. But the more he looks into her eyes in distress; he spots something that gives him the hope to fight harder. There is a glimmer of green in the orange of her eyes for a couple of seconds and she shakes her head like there is a sharp pain in there. She shakes the real Pyrrha out and the Onyx Phantom keeps on pushing down at down. He reaches out for Crocea Mors and he grabs the hilt, and with all his might he swings it straight across Pyrrha’s chest piece and she yelps, staggering off him. That’s when Jaune looks up and he gasps, seeing the huge Bat flying straight for Weiss who is climbing up that massive tower. She stops and she gasps in horror when she spots his massive Bat Form and the burning gold eyes. His demonic voice booms over the lightning storms as he attacks. “Where do you think you’re going?” He snarls, his voice made from hundreds of voices speaking in one tongue. She kicks her legs up to narrowly avoid the massive Bat from knocking her off the tower. The pieces of metal she was just climbing shatters and collapses beneath her. She has been holding onto one of the only really useful pieces of metal still attached that was sturdy enough to survive that attack.

She hangs onto it with one hand, her other still holding Myrtenaster and she watches the massive bat as he vanishes into the dark skies, gliding around the hills. Jaune looks at Weiss but then he has to snap out of his state of concern when Pyrrha lunges at him with Milo. He does not have his shield on him, so he must rely on his swordplay skills, holding Crocea Mors in both hands to turn the blade fast and deflect her attacks as fast as he can. Sparks burst from every attack, and Jaune’s hair has been completely soaked from the rain, along with Pyrrha’s. She looks almost unrecognisable with her hair down like that instead of being tied up into a Ponytail instead. She keeps on striking his sword, and he starts to have flashbacks of when he trained with her on the rooftops.

 _You’re stance is all wrong, you need to be wider and lower to the ground._ He swiftly strikes her sword with force to make her move back, and he does exactly that, spreading his legs out and pushing his body downwards so then he can move faster and more agilely. Pyrrha spins Milo through her fingers and she throws Akuou directly at him, but he steps aside and dodges it. But she uses her Polarity to pull it right back and she catches it after it narrowly misses the back of his head. _Shield up, keep your grip tight, always keep front foot forward...you can do this, Jaune!_ He does exactly that after he picks his shield up and he waits for _her_ to attack him instead of the other way around. She glares at him and paces around him, this is nothing like Pyrrha Nikos, she was always so calm and calculated. This Pyrrha is plagued with rage and hatred, and Jaune might be able to use that to his advantage. She yells, launching herself towards him and he pushes his shield up to block her attack and he swings the shield across her chest, throwing her backwards. He brings his arm round, slashing his sword right at her and just missing her breastplate as she rolls backwards. She presses both feet against his shield and kicks off him, throwing himself high in the air. She transforms Milo into its rifle form and open fires at him as she flies into the air. Jaune keeps his shield forward to keep the bullets from harming his aura further. She grits her teeth whilst still in the air, and she transforms Milo from Rifle form into Spear form and throws it directly at him.

He rolls out of the way, since that would have knocked him over, the spearhead stabs into the round where he was stood, he holds Crocea Mors behind him like a Knight would. Pyrrha lands before him and sprints at him again and she tackles him into a puddle and she kicks his sword and shield from his hands and she clenches her gauntleted hand into a tight fist and pounds her knuckles into his head with anger and villainy, her teeth still gritted. She punches him over and over again in the face and he feels the pain, but he grabs her wrist and forces the much lighter girl into the muddy floor. The awful water splashes against her firm skin and he holds her by her wrists, keeping her restrained and he looks down at her. “Stop it! I know that you’re still in there, Pyrrha!” Jaune begs with wide eyes, holding her down. He cannot tell, but Pyrrha is screaming his name inside of her own body, but the Onyx Phantom has to fight both Jaune and her to stay in control.

“Jaune! I hear you!” Pyrrha’s voice screams inside of her own head. But the Onyx Phantom has a different response indeed, she grits her teeth and roars with anger.

“Get off!” The Onyx Phantom bellows, smashing her own head against Jaune’s head to daze him and throw him back into the mud. Jaune has also noticed something, they have rebuilt her armour and weaponry to every little detail – bar from the colour – except for her circlet that was left behind. She pins him back down and pushes her heel against his arm and the other hand on his other arm. She uses her free arm to punch him over and over again but he sees that her eyes are flickering from orange to green over and over again. He feels her hand coming loose from his wrist and the Onyx Phantom screams with agony, pressing her hands to her head. Jaune caresses her cheek and she looks at him with pity, her eyes fully green for a short amount of time,

“You can’t do this, Pyrrha.” Jaune whispers to her, hoping his voice may be enough to bring her back. She whimpers when she looks at him.

“Jaune...run! I can’t hold on!” She screams with pain, and the orange irises flush back over her green ones and she delivers a very hard punch into his nose. One so hard it actually draws blood and dazes him for a moment. She prepares to deliver one more, and that is when Magnhild is suddenly swung straight across her cheek and throws her across the wet ground. Pyrrha crashes into the mud, the sludge stuck to her skin and armour plating, but she drags her nails into the mud to slow herself and she glares at the individual who attacked her. Nora stands in front of Jaune with her hammer in her hands, and Ren jumps and lands beside her with Stormflower in her hands.

“Guys...no...” Pyrrha whimpers in the mind of her body that her Demons control. Her semblance engages, Milo and Akuou fly across the field and into her hands so then she can fight them both, hatred fuelling her body and her eyes as she stands there. Nora glares at her and she looks at Jaune as he stands back up.

“I was right, she is still in there. We need to get her to fight the Phantom.” Jaune explains, a deafening screech terrifies them to their very core, and the three of them look up to see the huge bat flying over the trees towards where Weiss is climbing. Fear snarls and he slashes straight at her, his sharp talons slice across her back and Weiss screams with agony, blood leaking from her three gashes across her back, nearly slipping from where she was, and he banks around the tower once more, using the mountain as cover. But before they can attack Pyrrha again, Fear is now headed directly for them and they see the Bat diving through the rain at them. He shrieks and he transforms back into his humanoid form once more and swings his scythe across the three of them, launching them off the cliff and into the woods. The fall is not treacherous but it greatly sets them off their path.

Ren plummets but he uses the trees to stabilize his landing strategy, bouncing off their thick wooden trunks so then he lands with ease. Nora uses the recoil of her grenade launcher to soften her descent and she rolls off her landing. Jaune uses his shield to land, falling hard and onto it. He crashes onto his shield and the rain pools onto the shield, feeling is body tensing as he winces with pain. Nora runs over to him, pulling him back up. “We have to get up there!” Nora says.

“Why do you continue to fight?” The haunting voice of Fear asks them, flying around them in the clouds to keep on attacking Weiss. But they also know that they can talk to him and he will hear them no matter where they are. He forces himself back up with the help of his sword, looking at the sky and wiping the blood from his nostrils with his wrist.

“I could ask you the same question.” Jaune scoffs with a smirk.

“I do this because it is my duty...but you fight for a person whose soul is already lost.” Fear chuckles as he circles them, they can hear the unearthly shrieks echo across the island as he moves. They also can see the flames in the battlefield where Kragen and the others are right now. The Dragon flying around and burning the grounds, the infernos might not last long, but they are still devastating. Jaune growls with anger as he listens to Fear, clearly speaking about Pyrrha.

“She is not lost, she heard me...and you know it.” Jaune says as he walks with them to get back up there. The three of them know that Fear is not stupid, he is cunning and uses Fear as a tool. His massive torn and rotten putrid wings ripple in the harsh winds and he keeps on striking the tower, trying to kill Weiss, and he is doing a pretty good job already. Jaune hears the scheming laugh of the Knight as he banks round.

“Jaune Arc, a name from a very honourable family. And yet you fight so desperately to save the girl that you refused for countless months.” He chuckles.

“Get to the point.” Jaune demands.

“All I wish to know, is how far would you go, to save the one you love most?” Fear inquires as he circles the area. Jaune knows that he needs to answer his questions carefully, because if he answers it in a way that Fear can bend against him, then they will be in big, big trouble against that monstrosity.

“I’d die for her, over and over if I have to. I’d take her place if it were possible.” Jaune honestly says, and he has no idea that Pyrrha can hear every word that he says. The Onyx Phantom stands by the hill, and a tear leaks from her orange eyes and she does not know why. She touches the tear, and Pyrrha would normally feel sadness, but the Onyx Phantom feels anger.

The Onyx Phantom is her opposite, Pyrrha is calm and loving, the Onyx Phantom is furious and evil.

She glares at the tear and her face shrivels up and her teeth grit together hard and her head starts to shake with rage, her fingers curling into her fist. Pyrrha then turns, her eyes fixing onto Weiss as she weakly climbs up, blood dripping down her spine from where the Bat slashed her, his attacks seem to be devastating to her Aura in that form. Her eyes narrow and then she snarls, sprinting towards where she climbs and she aims her rifle up at where she is, firing every now and then. Jaune gasps, hearing the gunshots of Milo and he knows that they are running out of time. Jaune, Ren and Nora run as fast as they can back up that hill to Pyrrha to try and stop her from going after Weiss. They can hear him chortling to himself as he glides around. “The time of the Huntsman and Huntresses has passed, Jaune Arc, your battle fought and done.” He says coldly as they return to the top of the hill, and they see her stood there, she looks back and then starts to sprint after Weiss, climbing up the tower as well.

Grimm start pouring out from the walls and chasing after them, roaring. Beowulves and Spectral Grimm form as the Dragon flies overhead, dropping lumps of darkness into the field. A King Taijitu forms, both black and white heads rising upwards and it hisses at them. “Looks like Fear isn’t gonna make this easy, guys.” Jaune says to them, spinning Crocea Mors through his fingers.

“Then let’s kick their butts.” Nora excitedly says, she aims her Grenade Launcher at the first Grimm Beowulf that sprints at her, roaring animalistically. Ren sprints towards a Creep that lunges towards it, snapping its jaws at where he was, but he jumps over it and slashes his bladed guns across its back and then shooting it more and more until it busts into smoke. A Beowulf roars and it goes for an attack on Jaune, but he pushes the Beowulf back with his shield and plunges the blade of Crocea Mors into its stomach, killing it instantly.

“The sun has set on the age of humanity, the Faunus, and your petty combats.” The Knight of Fear states as he flies around, but they are not afraid of him anymore. Jaune spins round and smashes a Grimm Wraith across its face to make its spectral body float backwards. The Wraith swings its lantern and sword at Jaune but Jaune uses his shield to protect himself from the Wraith’s attack, and as it goes to stab him with its sword, he deflects it with Crocea Mors. He slashes it across the chest and it does some hefty damage to it, but not enough to kill it. The ghostly shriek of the damned echo from the Wraith and it floats back, smoke leaking from its wound. It bursts into red flames and appears behind him. Just before it attacks, Ren stabs both curved blades into its back, killing it. Jaune smiles and he nods, Ren does the same in return.

“We need to get up there, Jaune!” Nora tells him. Jaune focuses on the massive Python that stands in their way and he nods.

“We need to kill that Taijitu!” Jaune tells her.

“Let’s go get it!” Nora agrees, they have made their target. There are more Grimm around them but they will never get to the tower if that thing is still there. A Geist floats into the skeleton of an ancient Arkhoni Warrior and it rises up, sprinting at them with the sword in its hand and it swings directly at them. Nora smirks and she swings Magnhild upwards and into the ribcage of the Skeleton. “Boop!” She squeaks, completely shattering the skeleton into little pieces.

As Pyrrha climbs up the tower, the Onyx Phantom hisses with pain, putting one hand against her head to fight Pyrrha’s will as best as she can. Pyrrha is trying as hard as she can to regain control of her own body, to complete Team J.N.P.R once more, but first she must beat the Onyx Phantom. Her effort is worthless and the Onyx Phantom shakes it off, climbing after Weiss, following the blood that stains the old metal tower. She climbs across the smashed pieces where Fear attacked, and he is still out there somewhere.

Jaune nods to Nora and she whacks Magnhild against his shield, creating a powerful shockwave that kills the many Skeletons that run after them, and even wiping out the Geists themselves as they leave the bodies that they have just possessed. “Always wanted to do that!” Nora gleefully cheers.

Ren charges at the King Taijitu and the huge snake attacks, but he slides under its massive head and drags his blades across its back. Jaune waits for the huge Snake to stare at him and the black head snaps its jaws at him but he smashes the shield across its head and then slashing the sword across its eye. The Taijitu roars with agony as the smoke pours from its head. The Taijitu retreats, and Jaune turns his head when he sees Fear’s silhouette circling his location, the golden eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.

“Tell me, Jaune Arc...” He begins and Jaune rolls his eyes as he continues to fight the Taijitu while he talks away. “When your betrothed Pyrrha Nikos sees you again, what do you believe will happen?” Fear asks him and Jaune slices one of the King Taijitu’s fangs off and it falls beside him. Nora launches a cluster bomb and it blows the black head of the Taijitu to smithereens and Ren shoots at the White head as it lunges for him again. “Do you think – that when her emerald fields are set upon your sapphire oceans – she will drop Milo and Akuou and jump into your open arms to reclaim her lost love?” He asks him, using his theatrical skills to his advantage here. Ren remembers back to the Emerald Forest and he uses his Aura to stop the fangs and of the King Taijitu and he shatters them and launches one into its eye, and using that same Aura, he fires a pulse that shoots the fang straight through its skull, killing the Taijitu. “Or will you take Crocea Mors and drive it through her heart, and end the Onyx Phantom’s reign once and for all?” Fear concludes and Jaune stands with the rest of his team, and he stares at the dead Taijitu as it turns to a plume of smoke.

“Pyrrha already knows the answer.” Jaune assures.

“Yes...I suspect she does.” Fear responds sinisterly. The Dragon returns and drops more Grimm into the field behind them, an Ursa Major among them. Ren and Nora look at him and then at the tower.

“Go! Get after her. We’ll hold them off!” Ren promises.

“Are you sure?” Jaune asks them, always concerned for their safety.

“Of course! This is easy.” Nora assures with a smirk, staring at the Grimm as they prepare to attack.

“Stop her, and bring her back.” Ren begs. Jaune smiles and he nods. He shields his sword into his scabbard after deactivating his shield and reattaching it to his belt. He climbs after Pyrrha who is climbing after Weiss. Nora smirks at the Grimm and Ren looks at her with a smile, even he seems like he is enjoying this. Nora looks at him with an even bigger smile. “Just like old times, huh?” Ren chuckles with a smile.

“Oh yeah!” Nora squeaks, her eyes focusing on all the Grimm that surround them. “Okay then! Who’s first, and please – single file.” Nora requests with her confident smile. All the Grimm charge towards them and she sighs, rolling her eyes. “Or full on riot, okay.” She says, swinging Magnhild.

 

**Ruby**

The Drift of Wandering Star lands behind the mountains that surround the huge one that the Relic is hidden inside of. Her cage has been left outside and she can hear the battle nearby, where the Dragon is laying siege with its fire. She holds onto the bars desperately as she watches. Tyrian, Neo and Hazel are stood by her cage. Watts is elsewhere, checking the area and Ortega stands on a rock, watching from the safety of the cliffs with his binoculars before him so then he can watch. Ruby glares at him and she looks around at the area to see what is going on. Neo is sat down in the rain with her hands clasped together, waiting for her next order. The order of which she is hoping will be the execution of Ruby Rose, however she might have to fight Tyrian to get there. He stands beside her cage, his eye pretty much blinded from where Ruby scarred him forever with Salem’s Eye Brand. They are all dripping wet from the storm barrier and she sighs. “What’s happening out there?” She asks in a very bored voice, rolling her eye.

Tyrian strikes the cage with his blade as he glares at her. “Silence!” He barks like a dog and Ruby does not even flinch at it. She is no longer afraid of his threats, and that has further angered him. He is no longer being all high and mighty, he just wants to kill Ruby and be done with it. However there is more emotion behind it for Neo than there is for his case, but since she has no voice she cannot argue. All she does is give him a pair of very angry pink and brown eyes.

“What? Am I making things _too_ interesting?” Ruby remarks at the extremely boring area that they are in. Hazel actually chuckles at her statement, but that seems to make Tyrian angry as he glares at the muscular man. He stands tall with his arms crossed, looking around as well, water dripping from his hair where he stands. They are all cold and Ortega lowers his binoculars and he turns to Ruby.

“It’s hard to say, with the storms creating havoc with our radios, we have no idea. But the Dragon is probably burning your friends to ash.” Ortega casually says, walking past her cage and she looks at her own reflection in a puddle, able to see her face in a lightning flash.

“If you knew them you’d know that’s not true.” Ruby states with a smile. She looks up and sees Roman walking around, dry opposed to the others since he is not truly there.

“What a stunning view, this is! What do you think, Red?” He asks her with a laugh. He takes off his hate and he bats some dust off it and he chuckles as he paces around the area. “You know, I’m starting to like this ghostly business, I can go out in the rain and never get wet! It’s like a dream come true!” He laughs, walking around her cage again as she sits there. She has no idea of what Salem and the other knights are up to. She must have ordered Fear to go stop Jaune and Weiss from taking down the tower.

However...if they do manage that, then Ruby’s purpose will be usurped immediately.

Ortega walks back into his ship and he speaks with some other men that are inside. Ruby has not seen the Spectre, she does not think that he is here on this trip. Probably back at Atlas, for treatment for when Summer cut his other arm off when she saved Yang from his attack. Hazel stands beside her cell and Ruby turns and looks up at him, but she knows that with Neo and Tyrian there she cannot say a word to him. She does not want to risk his safety, he has always been good to her and Oscar back at Salem’s Sanctum. She then looks back at the beautiful landscape, the abandoned and overgrown buildings that are across the area, and the battle at the moment is in the fields where there are no buildings at all. But there is a small town nearby, one that they could use to their advantage.

She hopes so, anyway.

 

**Jaune**

He has no climbed extremely high up, holding on extremely tight so then he does not slip and fall to his death. It would not be a long trip but it would definitely kill him. He can see the blood stains from where Fear struck Weiss earlier, and he looks up. There is a platform at the top of the tower where the core is. He cannot see Weiss anymore, which hopefully means that she has managed to get to the top of the tower. The wind is exorbitantly harsh and bitter up her, his blonde locks blow crazily in these winds and his teeth are chattering. He can still see where Pyrrha is and she is climbing up there much faster than he is. He turns and he gasps when he sees the massive bat circling closer to the tower, focused on him now than Weiss. “Your devotion to her is inspiring, Jaune Arc. Inspiring and Flawed, since you were the same individual so devoted to someone who detested you.” Fear states with a chuckle and he rolls his eyes, climbing faster to try and catch up to his true love to save her.

“Yeah, yeah...I’ve heard enough about that crap for a lifetime. I was a stupid idiot who was blind! I know!” He shouts, already knowing what Fear was about to say, and Fear remains silent for a couple of moments. But eventually, as always, the most talkative of the Knights speaks up again.

“How it is almost poetic...you coming to save the one you love in a tower...the girl in the tower...” He chuckles, referencing the old children’s story that Pyrrha spoke of when she was in Ozpin’s Office. How that feels like it has been decades since that day began, the one that started all of this insane stuff to happen.

“Shut up.” Jaune demands with a sigh.

“Your love for Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune, is an innocent folly, and one that darkens her true promise.” Fear says as he flies around the tower.

“Who are you to make that choice?” Jaune questions.

“Not I, not any of us...it is but _his_ choice.” Fear states, and just like Salem he has stated yet one more player in this Game of Villains.

“Who?” Jaune questions, straining as he pulls himself up.

“You will learn soon enough, when her soul belongs to him forever. He is close, and you cannot save her. You’re simply wasting your time.” He chuckles.

Jaune ignores the Bat but it is hard when it starts to shriek. “I am sorry, Jaune Arc...but this is where your chapter ends.” Fear snarls, and the Bat starts to soar straight for him and Jaune’s eyes widen in horror. He jumps up and holds on for dear life as Fear dives straight through one of the major supports of the tower to kill him. There is a surpassingly horrific metallic bang from the sound of such a powerful support shattering like glass. He holds on with one hand, looking down and seeing the gap between him and the ground. He watches as the huge pieces of metal plummet down towards his team below.

“Guys! Look out!” Jaune yells. Back at the bottom, Nora and Ren hear the impact and they both look up. They see the huge chunks of rubble nose-diving down towards them. The two of them leap out of the way, and a piece actually squishes an Ursa flat into the ground. Nora giggles and she looks at Fear.

“Thanks!” She cheers.

Jaune looks back up, Pyrrha has climbed up there now. He is running out of time, and he climbs up there faster and faster. He jumps up and grabs onto the metal rails and supports, pulling his body up as best as he can. “Should’ve done more exercise before this!” Jaune strains as he pulls his un-athletic body upwards, all the armour on his body does not make it any easier. He reaches up for the hatch in the metal platform, and he grabs onto the slippery metal and he pulls himself upwards and into it. He fits through and climbs aboard, he looks forward and his eyes widen.

The Onyx Phantom stands there and she slashes her sword at Weiss, knocking her against the wall. Weiss has slash marks across her back and some across her arms and legs from where Fear has been slashing her with his claws. She has blood leaking from those wounds and her Aura is trying to repair the damage, but with Pyrrha attacking her, she is struggling. Jaune stands tall and he points Crocea Mors at her. “Pyrrha!” He yells and the Onyx Phantom stops attacking her and Pyrrha turns, glaring straight at Jaune. Weiss is in pain, her hand in her belly, the same place where Death stabbed her last time. The Onyx Phantom has slashed her across her stomach, not too deep but enough to be agonizing. She walks back and forth before him and then he looks at Weiss. He then looks back at her. “This is between you and me, we’re on the rooftop. This is our fight.” Jaune says.

“What are you doing?” Weiss winces.

All Jaune does is nod, he looks at her Dust Crystals. She is in no position to do this and survive. She sets the pack of dust crystals down on the floor and then she stands up and throws herself off the railing, plummeting down the side of the tower. She dives down with a worried look in her eyes for his safety. She generates some glyphs to bounce off to slow her descent. She slows it down but still lands hard, behind Nora and Ren, rolling across the ground. Ren turns round with wide eyes. “Weiss!” Ren exclaims with horror, seeing the state she is in. He runs over to her and checks her over.

“What happened?” Nora asks her.

“Jaune...he told me to do it.” Weiss weakly tells them.

“He’s still up there?” Nora gasps.

“With Pyrrha...”

Jaune looks at Pyrrha, the way that she is acting. The water dripping from her long uncared for hair. He cannot help but say what is actually on his mind when he stares at her with horrified eyes. “What has happened to you?” He asks with horror, and Pyrrha snarls viciously at him, burning hot eyes. “You know...outside the obvious.” He adds. Pyrrha yells and she sprints straight at him and slashes Milo right at him, but he smacks her sword out of the way and immediately smacks his shield against her face. He is basically closing his eyes, so then he does not see Pyrrha, only imaging the mask and hood of the Onyx Phantom instead. She staggers back and swings round with a roundhouse kick that strikes him in the side of the head. Jaune grunts with pain and she uses her Polarity and lifts him up by his armour, throwing him into the metal ground, denting it deeply. Jaune rolls out the way when she jumps and stamps down where his head was, her heel stabbing down into the ground where he could have been killed. He stands ready against the Spartan and she rushes him once more, yelling in ways that he has never heard her yell before, like some kind of unchained animal. She strikes and strikes and strikes, over and over again. Every hit creates loud bangs as the spearhead smashes and scrapes across his shield. He uses his shield efficiently to avoid the attacks and then he charges towards her with the shield, smashing it against her body to make her stagger backwards. He then spins round with Crocea Mors and slashes it across her chest plate, actually breaking a piece of it off. “Ha! Seems like Salem’s Armourers aren’t as good as the ones that made your old armour!” He laughs, just before he gets kicked in the mouth. He flips backwards and hits the floor.

“You talk too much.” The Onyx Phantom snarls as she approaches him, grabbing him by the throat, lifting him up. He laughs, looking at her.

“That was what you loved about me.” He admits, ripping himself free and dodging Milo as she swings it at him. She looks at the piece of metal on her chest that was broken off, fabric underneath, a weakness. One that Jaune would never be able to bring himself to use. He looks back with one glance at Weiss’ bag of dust shards. It won’t be difficult to throw it in there, he just needs to throw the dust shards inside and they will detonate and the core will destabilize. It’s just getting to it that will be difficult. Because she stands between him and it.

Pyrrha is fighting as hard as she can to regain control, she cannot bear to see him die, because if he does...her soul will have nothing left. The Onyx Phantom glares at Jaune with anger as she walks around. “Who are you...why are you so important to her?” The Onyx Phantom snarls through her voice. Jaune scoffs, standing tall and proud of the name that he has been branded with.

“I’m her lovable buffoon, her cat in the tree...the one who treated her as a _person_.” Jaune tells her, and the Onyx Phantom glares at him. Pyrrha suddenly gets a little bit of control and the Onyx Phantom’s eyes turn green and orange over and over, and the Phantom presses her hand to her head, falling to one knee from the pain. Jaune takes his chance and he sprints past Pyrrha and towards the crystals to throw them inside. He reaches for them, but the Onyx Phantom regains control, her eyes bursting orange with rage and she turns sharply and pulls him back with her Polarity, throwing him into the metal bars with force. He grunts with pain as the bars are bent from the impact. She rushes towards him and she pushes him against the edge and starts pummelling him over and over again. “Sorry!” Jaune apologises as he head-butts her to get free.  He spins Crocea Mors round and holds his shield up, deflecting the bullet from Milo, and he swings at hers as she swings towards him. She strikes with her round shield and he blocks with his and slashes at her. “You taught me how to do this – remember?” He questions, kicking her in the leg to make her weaker and he pushes himself back to get to it. He goes to swing at her but she pushes his blade aside with her polarity. The Onyx Phantom goes to stab him, but Pyrrha manages to use her control to bring the Phantom enough pain to make the arm be pulled back. Just before she could have done some serious damage to her. Jaune hesitantly strikes Pyrrha’s head with his shield to knock her onto the floor, but Pyrrha grabs him and pulls him down. She punches him in the face and he pushes his hand against her face.

Pyrrha bites onto his finger until it draws blood and Jaune screams in agony. It leaves him no other choice, he gets her arm in his legs and with force he twists and breaks her arm. Pyrrha screeches with agony from the internal bang in her arm and then Jaune closes his eyes as he slams his shield into her head again. She lays on the floor, unmoving...breathing...but unmoving. He sighs, with guilt, but he gets back up and he looks at the bite marks on his hand and shakes the pain off.

He walks towards the bag by the core and he picks it up. The back is made of leather and he unravels Weiss’ ridiculously methodical lacework and he sees them all glowing inside. He approaches the core and he goes to put it all in. Until he feels his armour being lifted up and his body is turned around. He winces with pain, feeling the armour being bent inwards and into his ribs to crush him down, squeezing. He gasps for air as Pyrrha uses her Polarity, the black matter surrounding each plate of metal. His arms are splayed out at the Onyx Phantom approaches him, glaring up at him with those furious eyes. “You...will...die...” The Onyx Phantom promises as she starts to crush his lungs with his own armour.

“We all do...one day...” Jaune says, and the Onyx Phantom raises Pyrrha’s eyebrow. “But you made a big mistake.” He says.

“And what’s that?” She asks. He smirks and then throws the bag, it falls directly into the core and the crystals glow brighter and brighter. Her eyes widen with defeat.

“Never let me talk.” He chuckles and she hears the sound of the core thrumming louder and louder, the metal plates cracking and eroding as the core begins to explode due to destabilization. Inside of her head, Pyrrha is smiling with pride to see him actually beat her for once. The core begins to set alight and systems explode. Explosions detonate across the tower in different places.

Weiss looks up at the tower, seeing the combustions working their way up the huge tower, destroying every single system there is. Kragen was right, the entire system is destabilizing and is about to explode. With Jaune still atop it. “Jaune...” Weiss gasps with fear for his safety. The explosions pulsate up the tower, and when they meet the core, it is one huge explosion. It shatters both their auras in a huge electrical outburst that throws them both across the platform. Jaune rolls across, the electricity passing across his body and he groans with pain. The tip of the tower completely explodes and pieces shatter parts of the platform that they are on.

And finally...

The beam of lightning shuts down. The storm barrier crumbles and comes apart above their heads, the rain ceasing to fall and the weather becomes bright and sunny. Instant Summer in a single moment, the water stops falling and warmth spreads across the Islands. For the first time in thousands of years, this island has seen light. Jaune hears the Onyx Phantom’s scream as a piece of metal shatters the platform she was on and she nearly falls, but she holds on by one hand, hanging there.

Kragen looks around at where they are, feeling the rain stop  and the warmth touch their skin.

The Barrier is finally down.

The building is extremely unstable as well, now that the power is out. Jaune weakly gets back up, the electrical energy burnt his body and he limps over to where Pyrrha hangs, his skin charred in places and across his left cheek as well. He sees her hanging on, most of her Dark Armour fractured and broken off, her skin burnt and some of her hair charred as well. She holds on and looks up at him with hatred. But Jaune doesn’t care, the girl he loves is hanging on for dear life. He grabs her arm and pulls her back up and she clambers back on and they both roll across the metal ground, still warm from the electrical pulse. The building creaks from the damage done to it. The Onyx Phantom looks at Jaune and Jaune weakly stands back up. “You know me...” Jaune says, trying to break the link of Phantom and Nikos. She stands there and then she grits her teeth, eyes still orange and she punches him so hard she falls to one knee, knocking him onto the floor.

“No I don’t!” Pyrrha yells out, the impact makes Jaune fall to the floor, but he keeps on getting back up. He pushes himself back up  and she glares at him.

“Pyrrha...we’ve known each other...since the start of our time at Beacon.” Jaune weakly rasps, and the Onyx Phantom looks around the floor, her eyes darting between the control of the Phantom and Pyrrha. But then they still turn orange and Pyrrha grunts, swinging the back of her first round and striking him hard again. Every time he hits the floor, the supports start to get weaker and weaker. But Jaune gets up once more and he looks right into her eyes, and despite them being orange, he sees emerald fields instead.

“I’m not fighting you anymore, Pyrrha.” He says, dropping his shield and Crocea Mors off the building and they both fall into the watery depths below in that cove that was by the cliffs and the forest. He stands there and says the very words that he expects will free her from the Phantom’s will. The very phrase she always wanted to hear him say that he never got to say before Cinder took her from him. “I love you.” Jaune confesses, and the Onyx Phantom stares straight at him. There is a deafly silence...and then the Onyx Phantom takes action. She sprints right at him and tackles him into the floor. She glares at him, pushing his neck against the metal grates.

“I have my destiny.” Pyrrha snarls, and she starts punching Jaune over and over again in the face. Punch after punch, bruising his eye to the point where it bleeds at one point. Blood leaving his nose and from cuts she makes from her gauntlets that have razor knuckles. She punches him around ten times in the face, blood leaking from his lips and he groans with pain. She pants with exhaustion, the plate in the platform made extremely weak and Jaune just looks at her.

“I know...” Jaune says weakly and the Onyx Phantom pauses. “And that’s okay...because no matter what your destiny is...I will always be there for you, Pyrrha.” Jaune says to her, reciting the very same message she gave him and what she said after his sister’s funeral. _I’ll always be there for you Jaune._ The Onyx Phantom’s eyes widen, and she remembers, seeing all her memories flushing back into her eyes. Every moment that they ever shared, the times she said that to him...their final kiss. The moment of her death, the love of Jaune never left...

And them...

The orange fades away and green returns, she looks right at him with horrified eyes of what she has just done to him. “Jaune?” She whimpers with fear. When she goes to wipe the blood from his cheek however, the platform collapses beneath them, and Jaune plummets down the tower, whilst she holds on by one hand, watching him fall. “Jaune!” She wails as she watches him plummet down to his death. Jaune falls and lands in the water, sinking down into the dark depths of the lake that he landed in. Bubbles draining from his mouth as he sinks from where he fell.

His eyes are about to close when he notices a splash and a hand reaches out for him.

 

At the shores of the lake, she walks out with her hand gripped to his shoulder, pulling him out of the water. She hauls him out with both hands and she stands beside him, the water dripping from both of their bodies. Her hair surrounds her cheeks and she looks down at him. Pyrrha reaches out to hold him. “Jaune!” She hears Nora calling nearby. She hears their calls, and she is afraid of what they will think of seeing her there. She takes one last look at her beloved, and she turns to walk away, and she walks into the trees of the forest. As soon as she does, Nora, Ren and Weiss run round the corner and they see him there.

As soon as they got there, she vanished. They sprint to his side and they shake him to wake him up, he does not move...but he is breathing.

Barely.


	45. Laying the Trap

**Salem**

She walks towards the entrance to the large cave and she looks at the massive doors that stand between her and her prize. She can sense the presence of the Relic inside and her eyes glow faintly as she stares at it. Fury is itching to get in there as well, to finally reclaim his treasure, but they all notice that the storms have completely subsided in a fraction of a moment. The three knights look up at the sky, and then they see Fear returning. His massive bat wings wrap round the bat’s body and he transforms painfully into his humanoid form. He slams his fist into the ground after landing with a bang and he rises up from the knelt stance, holding Formido Falcem in his hand. But Salem has already noticed what has happened, her red eyes examining the clear skies that were supposed to be filled with stormy clouds. “It seems that our enemies are more persistent than I expected.” Salem sighs and Fear spins his scythe round.

“I know where they are. I have already informed the Admiral of the Acolytes of Lien to send a large detachment of soldiers towards them.” Fear explains, kneeling before her as a Knight should before their Queen. Death stands there and he looks at her with his sword pressed down into the ground. Fury snarls with anger when he realises that they are here as well, the flames burn hot. Loss looks down at the land afar and she turns to her Queen.

“We can go and assist.” Loss suggests. Salem stands there and she looks at Fury, she can tell that he wants to go in there, and she actually wants to grant him that. But it seems that he has some sort of unshakable bond to his fellow Knights, and before she can even say a word, he walks over to them.

“Shouldn’t be too difficult.” Fury snarls, the fire burning hot and Salem sighs, seeing him ready.

“It is settled then; I will go inside and begin my search for this Relic. Fear I want you to tell Watts and Hazel to come join me.” Salem orders.

“What about Tyrian and the voiceless one?” Fear inquires. She turns to face him with a villainous smirk.

“Ruby Rose has now fulfilled her purpose. We only needed her to get in and out, but now that our enemies have shut it down...they have officially killed her.” Salem explains sinisterly with that evil smirk on her face. Fear smirks back and he nods, forming a Raven in his hand and it caws, looking at him. He sends the message and the Raven flies from his hand and towards where the Drift of Wandering Star is landed. The Four Knights transform into their Beast Forms and they fly towards where they are, while Salem approaches the entrance.

They are running out of time to save Ruby.

**Qrow**

Neptune takes one of the explosives that the Architect made before leaving the Headquarters that Raven has built up. They are small but powerful charges that can be buried beneath the soil, all it takes is the flick of a switch and they will all go off. Powerful dust used inside to completely obliterate anybody in their vicinity. The blue haired Huntsman tears up the ground with a shovel that they brought with them, Qrow and Adam remain on guard. Despite his lack of vision, his hearing has adapted to become so acute that he can see the very things that none of them would know of until it is right on top of them. The three of them are still dripping wet from the storm barrier, despite it being shut down, Adam spins his sword through his fingers after hearing the faint sound of Bullheads coming straight for their position. “We have incoming.” Adam warns, crouching down and the others do the same thing. Qrow takes his scroll out and he contacts Yang quickly to warn her as well.

“They’re on their way.” Qrow whispers when he hears her picking up the scroll.

“Okay...” She whispers back and hanging up on the scroll. They have set up a perimeter of explosives, and not a minute too soon either, because the enemy have arrived and they all out of explosives. Adam moves stealthily and silently through the forest, keeping his senses sharp as he listens for where they are coming from, taking cover behind a tree. Over where Yang and the others are, they are all taking cover in some of the buildings that they have found. This forest was once a town, and the buildings are still standing, so to speak. They are not habitable for humans anymore. Yang takes cover inside of a house with Blake and Sun, they keep their eyes peeled. The rumbling of the incoming Bullheads is quite frightening.

Penny panics, she does not have much time and she is stood right in the middle of the town. The only area she can hide before they actually spot her is a collection of rocks from a collapsed church steeple. She hides behind the bell, keeping her head down, she looks over at Sun who looks at her with nervous eyes. Raven and Winter are moving through the trees, waiting for their opportune moment to strike. Nora, Ren and Weiss help get Jaune over there, but they quickly change their minds when Kassius looks at them and waves them off. “They’re coming!” He mouths, and Ren nods, they help get Jaune to cover and Nora looks around. The Knights are incoming as well, the three massive wings blocking out the sun and the one small Mourning Dove that flutters with them. She turns her head and looks at a small hummingbird that tilts its head at her, and then flies off.

She can feel the footfalls of something massive...then she remembers. And a mad idea and smirk appears on her face. “I’ve got a plan to take these guys out.” She whispers to Ren. Ren looks terrified when she says that.

Kassius spins his swords through his fingers and thrusts his wrists downwards, activating Lash Equinox. Oscar is with him and he looks at the fractured shards of time flickering around his hands, channelling them through him for when he needs to use them. You cannot hide from the Knights, because they _will_ find you.

They all keep their heads down and the Bullheads approach the scene, their huge cone-shaped thrusters flipping round to slow down and their troop bay doors open up. The Acolytes of Lien jump out from the Bullheads and they land in the field, guns high and patrolling the perimeter. The deafening screech of the Bat scares all of them, even the Mercenaries, and then the Knights arrive. Fear flies at the head and the bats wings wrap round him and he spins through the air as he transforms, his humanoid arms and legs extending, bones crunching and muscles stretching unnaturally. He pulls his hood of rotten skin over his head with one hand and slams his Scythe wielding fist into the dirt with a maniacal grin formed on his face. Gritting his teeth hard as he lands. Fury’s Wyvern bursts bright with fire and he changes straight into the form of his Knight, ablaze with rage and lands on the rooftop of a large building. It must have once been a supermarket or something when the Arkhoni were still around. Loss’ Dove vanishes in a cloud of smoke and she forms out of it, rolling across the ground and stopping. Fury roars on the rooftop, and the shadow of the titanic Nevermore consumes them all, and Death arrives. Smoke bursts from the body of the Nevermore and from that darkness, he falls from it and lands down hard, making the ground shake. He holds Ferrum Arctus in one hand and walks forward. From where Nora stands, she gasps in horror, seeing a tree changing beside Fear, the bark crunching and there is the skeleton of a Buck beside it. The roots and bark shatter from the tree, and the being with long sharp arms emerges. It is covered with moss and the wooden skin creaks as it walks. It approaches the skull of the Buck on the ground and picks it up, attaching it to its head. The roots wrap around the inside to attach it, the antler snaps off and it snarls as it stands there, looking around.

The Lord of the Wood is here as well. The massive Leshen walks around in search for its target and her friends. Fear laughs as he stands tall, resting Formido Falcem on his shoulder with that big grin stretched across his face. “Right then! Ready or not, here we come, little ones!” Fear cheers as he walks around and the soldiers approach different buildings in the area. A Seeker shoots across the area to find out where they are hiding. Death points with Ferrum Arctus as he walks to command the Mercenaries.

“Search this town!” He orders, eyes glowing afire. The soldiers nod out of fear and the start searching more desperately, checking the buildings, and Death looks around with his sharp metal head. The red energy that he sees through flowing through the cracks in the Isomacium that his soul has become bound to. “They’re here...” He growls as he looks around the area, slowly walking around. Yang glares at the soldiers as they walk around, staying down as best as she can. Qrow is also watching intently from the background with his eyes on the scene. They are ready to detonate the explosives when it is necessary. Nora has completely vanished however, Ren and Weiss are staying beside Jaune.

Whatever her plan is, she must be getting it ready. “Clear!” Soldiers call out after checking the buildings, still dripping with water. Yang pushes her soaked hair from her eyes, and wipes her face that is still covered with water. She is burdensome from water as it has made her clothes much, much heavier. She keeps Ember Celica primed, waiting for when the time is right to strike. A soldier slowly approaches the area of which that Penny is hiding behind, and as he approaches, the rubble crumbles and the bell rolls away, completely revealing her to the search party. The soldier turns his rifle and aims it straight at her.

“Sir! Is this one of them?” The Acolyte calls to Death, the massive Knight turns his head and he looks at Penny and tilts his head. She looks at the four Knights and she timidly waves.

“Salutations...” She timorously says to Death and he walks towards her.

“Get over here, android.” Death demands, he can already tell that she is not really a human being. She gets up and shyly approaches him, hunched over and her arms covering her own body as she approaches.

“I am Penny Polendina...I am a frie-” Before she can even finish, Death grabs her by her long orange hair and pulls her upwards into his eye level and she yelps in pain, grabbing his wrist with panic. Fear laughs when he looks at the state of her mechanical body underneath the shroud of being a little girl.

“So this is that little experiment of Merlot’s?” Fear chuckles as he pokes the hole in her side, and sparks pour out from the wound she suffered from the lightning bolt that hit her pod she was in. She shrieks with pain from the insensitive poking, and that just makes Fear laugh at her as she squirms.

“Please don’t.” She begs, nearly crying as he holds her like that. Death starts grabbing different parts of her body and then her chin as he looks at her and a menacing snarl comes out from his helmet.

“A mechanical body to emulate life...disgusting.” Death snarls out of anger. “There was a reason why we never created abominations like yourself back in our day.” Death growls with disgust as he looks at her body.

“I am alive.” Penny assures him.

“You were programmed to believe you are alive, but you are nothing more than a metal chassis that _thinks_ that it is alive. You lack a soul, only the software that speaks within you.” Death comments and it seems to hurt her even further. Yang’s eyes widen with anger and she makes a mistake that one should never make when hiding from a search party. She stands up and stomps towards them. The soldier that found her turns and she shoots him with Ember Celica. The gunshot gets the attention of the Knights of Grimm and the Lord of the Wood that turns slowly, the wood creaking as it stares emotionlessly.

“Hey! Put her down!” She yells and Death looks directly into her lilac eyes that have turned red as well. Qrow sees what she is doing and he widens his own eyes.

“No...Don’t...” He begs. Penny looks back at her, she has never seen Yang or anybody other than Ruby defend her like this before. Death chuckles and Fear smirks, standing aside as Death throws Penny back towards Yang.

“Yang Xiao Long, you are a bold one.” Death states, taking one step closer.

Yang throws a punch towards him and launches a missile that explodes against the side of his head, causing him to stagger backwards with a metallic roar. She grabs Penny and dives behind the rocks, because that is when Qrow hammers his thumb down on the detonator of the explosives. Suddenly explosions are set off underneath their feet and the three Knights on the ground are thrown into the air from the fiery explosion. Some Acolytes are killed in the blast as well and Death crashes through one of the buildings, scraping his head against the floor. The shadows repair the damage that Yang did to the side of his head and what the Architect’s bombs did as well. Charred corpses lay on the ground that were not Knights, smoking from the flames that stick to their skin. Death slams his sword down in the ground and the soldiers that survived begin to open fire, Death points his sword at them with anger. “After those vile beings!” Death bellows and Fear gets back up and his wings fold out from his body and he flies after them in his Archangel Form, instead of his Beast Form.

“I have them!” Fear yells, jumping into the air, his wings spreading outwards, the torn fabric like flesh rippling in the wind as he moves. Kassius steps out from cover and he jumps at the Knight of Fear as he flies towards him and he drives Lash Equinox into his chest, holding on as he lets out a haunting roar. Fear grabs him and throws him from his chest and Kassius grunts as he falls into some bushes.

Death spins Ferrum Arctus through his fingers, black lightning channels across the dark blade and he aims it at the fleeing Yang Xiao Long and Penny Polendina, unleashing an undeniably powerful blast of black electricity towards them as they flee. The lightning carves across the ground behind them as he shoots towards them, yelling with rage as he does it. Fury leaps from the rooftops and he charges after the huntresses as they attempt to escape. “Fury!” Blake yells with anger, causing him to stop and slowly look over his burning shoulder and meeting her amber eyes. Sun stands beside her and he spins his staff through his fingers. A furious smirk forms across his face and he turns fully to face her.

“Belladonna.” He growls, charging towards her and swinging one of his axes at her. She vanishes as a shadow and leaps over him. Sun uses his semblance to create a pair of Glowing Sun’s to stop his axe. One of them wraps his tail around his wrist and the other kicks him across the chin. Blake slashes Gambol Shroud over and over again across his chest to do some damage against him and Sun rapid fires Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at the burning Knight, causing him to stagger backwards over and over again. Fury staggers back, chunks of pumice being blown off piece at a time, magma spilling over his wounds and repairing them instantly. Fury roars and he swings round with his wings extended and slashing them through the building, setting the flammable pieces on fire.

Over at where Qrow, Adam and Neptune are, they are handling their own business where the Acolytes of Lien have found them. Soldiers shoot their rifles at them and some of them even carry swords of their own, trying to kill them with their skill as well. Qrow guards himself with his sword, deflecting a bullet and then swinging the sword across the head of one of the soldiers. Neptune fires his rifle over and over at the soldiers, transforming Trishula into its trident form and he stabs one in the chest. Whilst he pins the soldier into the ground, his hair glows brighter and he throws his hand round, blasting electricity from his fingertips and into some of the Mercenaries that surround them. Blood curdling screams erupt from their bodies and he quickly rips the trident from the chest of the solider that he just ended to stop the sword of one of the Captains.

The Captain pushes down with anger, but suddenly a red blade erupts through the Captain’s ribcage and blood splutters from his lips and he groans in agony. Adam cuts him in half and immediately beheads another soldier beside them. The three of them stand back to back as they fight the many Mercenaries off with their weapons, Neptune aiming at them with his Rifle, Qrow and Adam point their swords at their enemies. Adam’s hearing has become so acute that nobody would ever believe that he is actually blind. A soldier takes a step forward to attack and he has already moved to fight back against him. Qrow slashes his sword downwards when a Swordsman goes for him, cutting his cybernetic arm from his wrist and he screams in pain. Sparks pour from the wound, and he ends him with the shotgun attachment as the blade folds downwards and blasts into his chest, sending him airborne.

Across the other side of the forest, a Seeker darts towards Winter but she uses her Glyph to dart past him. She forms one behind her and pushes both of her legs against it to launch towards him. She goes to stab him in the backpack that makes him faster, but he managed to get away just before. The Seeker vanishes and she stabs her sword into the soil where he was stood. She punches the soil with annoyance at these enemies, but he returns to shoot her in the head with her Submachine Gun. Until a portal opens up behind her and the helmeted Raven Branwen jumps out and drives her red Odachi through his back. She stabs him so hard that he falls into the floor and the blade sinks into the roots and dirt. She rips her sword from his back and the suit shuts down from the lack of dust to charge it, blood coating the red blade.

Winter stands back up and she points at a Beowulf that charges towards them. Winter does not even look at it when she holds her sword up and the Beowulf’s head sinks right through the blade, the tip protrudes out the back of its head. Raven nods, smiling behind her helmet and she forms another portal to help the others against the Knights below.

Oscar glares at the Acolytes of the Coin that stand between him and the Knight of Loss and he clenches his hand into a fist. She draws her bow and aims straight at Blake as she darts across Fury with her semblance assisting her. She has been attacking Fury pretty successfully, but all it takes is for Fury to go berserk and he will wipe her out. He cracks his neck as he focuses his mind and he pauses time with his mind, the crack shatters the landscape and he sprints towards the Acolytes that walk. He runs at the most dangerous one of the bunch, a Tremor Soldier. He leaps in the air and smashes his fist into the head of the soldier, taking him out instantaneously. The stutter shatters around him and the soldiers turn in shock when they see the young boy. “Whoa!” A soldier yells, but Oscar darts straight past him, instead of pausing time, he has just figured out how to dash. He shot as fast as a bullet past him, the whoosh of the air has thrown him off his feet. He throws a time bubble into one of the soldiers and throws a stone into it. With time being paused there, the stone will definitely put him out of commission for quite a while, whether or not it kills him. One of the soldiers tries to throw a grenade at him, and Oscar freezes time once more and he sprints past him. He scoops a Handgun from the holster of that exact soldier and he resumes time and shoots him in the back of the head. The bubble bursts and the rock is launched into his chest at the speed of a bullet, knocking him over and nearly killing him, shattering his ribs. Oscar sighs and he walks past the soldier he knocked over, and without even glancing at him, he points the gun at his face and shoots him.

His time in Salem’s Sanctum, like Ruby, has made him far colder.

The Architect fires his rifle swiftly at Loss and she rolls out of the way and launches an arrow at him. His targeting systems allow him to focus onto the arrow that shoots directly at his head and he dodges it swiftly. He grabs one of his explosive devices and he looks straight at the feminine Archer. “Catch!” The Architect calls out, over-arm throwing the bomb towards her and he follows the grenade with his rifle, and he fires as it approaches her. He manages to nail the explosive and sets it off right in her face. The explosion throws her backwards and straight into the wall with force. She rolls across the ground but gets up immediately, her veil still covering her face. She then pulls it back and looks right at the Architect. The Architect laughs at her and she raises an eyebrow. “Nothing but clockwork, honey!” He chuckles, his rifle transforms in his hands, each piece of metal shifts and slides apart and the huge metal blade forms and he swings it directly at her. She rolls back and then slashes him across the chest with her Tonfas after snapping the bow in half. The blades cut deep into the chassis, but nothing too serious. He kicks her in the chest and keeps moving forward.

Kragen stands tall and he glares at the Lord of the Wood which walks towards him with its claws sharp and burning eyes focused on him. The crows caw around him and he watches them. He narrows his eyes when staring at it and then looks at the Leshen once more. “I’ve heard tales about you, Lord.” Kragen states and the Leshen stares straight into his silver eyes. He stands tall and spins his staff through his fingers. His eyes glow brighter and the silver energy passes into his Isomacium and Ebony Wood Staff, making the markings glow bright. He then spins it round and points it at the floor, the rest pressed against the back of his arm. “Let’s see if they are true, shall we?” He asks him.

The Leshen holds out its arms and the crows flock around it as it stands there, making no sound whatsoever. It then darts towards him in the form of a cloud of vulturous birds towards him. The black smoke in the centre of the flock transforms back into the Leshen again and the crows flock past Kragen and the Lord of the Wood slashes him across the chest, throwing him backwards. Kragen rolls back and he closes his eyes, digging his fingers into the dirt and standing tall. He then opens  them and stares at the Leshen that slowly walks towards him. “My turn.” Kragen retorts and he sprints at the Leshen and he jumps into the air, spinning round and striking it across the skull with his staff, the white energy jolting across its body like electricity. The Leshen takes a step back and then swings its clawed hands down to do some more damage but he moves aside and slams the staff into its gut to make it fall forward. Nox flicks the staff upwards and cracks it up the chin of the Leshen and he makes it fall back more. The Lord of the Wood gathers the flock of Crows and he points at Kragen to make them attack him. The swarm shoots towards him, and Kragen responds by spinning his staff round so fast and constantly that it makes a shield of light, scaring the birds off. He then zooms towards the Leshen and strikes it across its side.

The Leshen suddenly bursts into smoke with a roar, and something else happens. The smoke rises into the air, and drops down into six individual pieces. The pieces forge the bodies of six Beowulves and they retreat from him. The Lord of the Wood knows when it is outmatched in a fight, and when to retreat. Despite it being infinite when bound to Nora, it still must find her.

And that is exactly what it is doing

Kragen stands tall and he smiles when he watches the Beowulves run. “Yeah you better run.” He chuckles.

Yang continues to flee to get Penny to safety, but she feels the hairs on her forearms stand on end, and her breath trembles fearfully. She looks over her shoulder and gasps when her eyes are set upon the Knight of Fear as he lunges for her. “You cannot run from me!” Fear roars as he folds his wings and swings at her. Yang ducks down and punches up Fear’s jaw, making him stagger. Heavy footfalls approach the scene and her eyes widen in fear when she turns and sees Nora running extremely quickly from the trees.

“I brought a gift!” Nora calls. The trees suddenly explode, and the huge Grimm Giganotosaurus erupts from the trees, throwing shards of wood across the sky and it bellows. Fear does not notice at first and he stands in front of Yang with a grin. He draws his Crossbow with one arm and aims it at her face.

“Freeze!” He demands. The Giganotosaurus and other Grimm here are not bound by the laws of the Knights, they only defend the Relic at all costs. The Giganotosaurus jumps over a felled tree and lands on the slippery soil, sliding towards him and spinning round. Fear turns too late and his golden eyes widen in shock when the Giganotosaurus strikes him with its massive tail. Fear crashes straight through one of the buildings from the impact, the roof collapses on top of him as well. Everyone turns with wide eyes as they see the monster charging into the battlefield.

“Guys! Run! That thing will be interested in the bad guys!” Nora calls as she runs up to Ren and Weiss, helping to get Jaune to safety as well. Blake slides underneath Fury’s legs and she slices Gambol Shroud across his leg, causing him to fall to one knee. They both start to run towards the same way that Yang and Penny went to catch up with them. The Leshen watches their moves, Nora’s moves to be precise and it starts to walk towards them, slowly and emotionlessly. The Lord of the Wood’s Crows caw as they follow it. The Giganotosaurus clamps its jaws onto Loss and throws her into the ground with force, making the ground shake from the impact, roaring monstrously as it does it. It then turns to fleeing soldier and bites onto him, blood spilling everywhere from the screaming man as it devours him alive.

Kassius catches up to them and he looks at Nora with wide eyes at her crazy idea. “When did you do that?” Kassius asks.

“I heard it earlier! Thought it would help!” Nora giggles as she runs. Kassius looks back at the titanic beast as it devastates the group that came to attack them. It jumps up and bites onto the body of a Bullhead, flames bursting out from the fuel cells as it explodes from the massive monster’s attack. It throws the burning wreckage into the ground and continues to devour the fleeing soldiers. Kassius looks at Nora again and he can’t help but laugh at how perfectly that went. It did not even touch them, it was far too interested in the Acolytes and the Knights, more prey.

“Good job!” He chuckles as he runs. Little do they realise that the Lord of the Wood is following them, the crows glide in a flock to chase after them, their caws echo for miles as they warn them. And Nora can hear the caws, and it truthfully terrifies her.

Death spreads out his wings and he swings them downwards to get atop a rooftop of a building. He fires the black lightning from the blade of Ferrum Arctus at the Giganotosaurus but it does absolutely nothing to its armour, only angers it. Death turns to the rest of his group and the Giganotosaurus bites onto the left thruster of a crashed Bullhead and throws it at him. “Knights of Grimm!” He roars, rolling across the rooftops to dodge the thruster that was thrown his way. He extends his black feathers as he stands there. “Retreat!” He orders, transforming into his Nevermore form, and flying away from the village, their plan shattered instantly when Nora brought the Giganotosaurus their way. Fury and Loss transform and they follow after him, but Fear throws the rubble from his body and his golden eyes focus on them as they run away from the village and towards the mountains where Ruby is being held right now. He grits his teeth with anger, and transforms into the Bat, but he is not following the other Knights.

He is headed straight for them.

 

**Ruby**

 

Ruby watches Ortega’s expressions when he swiftly lowers his binoculars, seeing what just happened down there. The chaos that just occurred, that entire force was just wiped out by one Creature of Grimm. As they have said, there is a very good reason about why nobody leaves this island alive. The monsters that patrol it and its waters are practically unstoppable. His breath is actually shaky and he takes a step back, enough for Ruby to know that things are not exactly going his way. She smirks when she looks at him and she feels the need to actually comment on how things are going. Hazel and Watts are not here, since they got the Raven from Fear and have gone to assist Salem inside the Relic’s Chamber. Tyrian and Neo remain, Neo sat on a box, sharpening her blades that she has fashioned. Tyrian extends and retracts his pincer-like wrist blades over and over again, glaring at Ruby with anger. “How are things?” She asks him and he turns and faces her with an angered expression in his eyes. He clenches his hand into a fist, and then he turns and walks back towards his ship. He approaches the soldiers inside and he speaks to them.

“I want all soldiers in the field now.” He demands, and the soldiers inside nod their heads and they pick their weapons back up. Ruby looks up and she gasps when she sees Death, Fury and Loss returning, transforming back into their forms on the cliff face that they have been sat on for a while. Fury rolls across the ground after transforming, flames sitting on the grass where he lands and Death sheathes Ferrum Arctus into his back. Death approaches Ortega and he turns, fearful for his own safety when the Knight looks down at him.

“Kill them all.” Death orders.

“And the girl?” He asks. He slowly turns his head to face her. He then looks back at Ortega.

“Kill her.” He orders, walking up the steps towards the entrance of the place. Ruby now feels something that she has not felt in a while, now that she knows that her friends have come this far to save her life.

Ruby is afraid.

 

**Yang**

Yang runs as fast as she can up the hill, but they have to stop for a moment to catch their breath again. She presses her hands against her knees as she bends forward like that, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She looks at the others who are with her, Jaune is slowly recovering his strength. His burns are beginning to heal, but he still needs some more time to be able to fully fight again. Ren and Nora sit him down against a rock by the wall and they sit on the floor. Yang turns and looks at Penny, some of her hair was torn out by Death when he held her up like that, commenting on her chassis like she was a badly made toy. She crouches down beside her and straightens out her messed up hair to make her feel better. “You okay, Penny?” Yang asks her and she smiles, nodding her head.

“Yes...thank you for helping me...you’ve never been like that before.” Penny states, managing to remember her past before the Vytal Tournament. Yang smiles and she tilts her head.

“Well, I guess I never realised what I lost...until you were gone.” Yang explains with a smile, and her warm words really lightens her back up again, but something that Death said is really sticking to her bones.

“Yang – what did he mean?” She asks her with a raised eyebrow.

“What did who mean?” Yang asks her.

“That metal man...the scary one...about me having no soul?” Penny asks nervously, similarly as she did with her best friend Ruby. Blake and Weiss walk over to her and they sit down with her to talk with her, she is still a young girl at heart. And still just as innocent as she always was.

“He was wrong – Death does not understand you, Penny. You are special, and special is something he fears. Because he has not seen someone who was made and has a personality before.” Yang explains, rubbing Penny’s back with a smile. Blake points to her own cat ears with that bright smile on her face.

“Being different isn’t always so bad.” Blake states, and Penny smiles.

“Thank you...all of you.” Penny says kindly, standing back up, she flinches with pain when she feels a spark bursting from her wound and she looks at it.

“We’ll get that patches up when we get out of here.” Weiss assures.

“Thank you, it is very distracting.” Penny admits with annoyance when she looks at it.

Kassius walks over to the injured Jaune and he sits down beside him, crossing one leg over the other when he looks over at him. Jaune still has not told him that Pyrrha is the Onyx Phantom, mainly because he is afraid of how he will react, despite that it could have easily been Neo or a different Phantom. “What happened up there, Jaune?” Kassius asks him, looking at the young boy. Jaune looks at him and he sighs, looking at the floor. He knows that he has to tell him.

“Pyrrha is alive, Kassius.” Jaune admits and his eyes widen with amazement, but from the way he says it, he can immediately tell that it is not in the good way.

“In what way is she alive?” Kassius inquires, his eyes narrowing. Jaune touches the healing burns on his face and he flinches from touching it. He shakes from the pain that he is feeling and he groans.

“She’s...she’s the – Onyx Phantom.” He answers, and Kassius’ eyes widen in horror when he hears him tell him that.

“She’s...” He begins with confused eyes.

“Did she kill them?” Hyde questions in his head, but Jaune does not hear the Alternate Personality speaking, only Kassius does. He is the one that they need to worry about with this information, not Kassius. Hyde could snap and try and kill her, or worse, kill them as well from all that anger.

“I don’t think she is the one that killed your team though.” Jaune admits. “From what you told us, the one that did this was a girl, sure...but she was far more aggressive about it than she was, even Pyrrha was fighting the Onyx Phantom up there as well.” He explains, and Kassius looks down at the floor. Even he can agree that the Phantom that did that was not like others.

“Then who?” He wonders.

“I dunno...but I got through to Pyrrha, just as I fell...I was unconscious and when I came to...I was on the land.” He explains, looking at Kassius. Kassius can already assume what happened.

“She saved you...” Kassius says.

“Again.” Jaune adds. Kassius looks forward and he puts his hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a smile.

“Well, hey – I’m with you guys to the end of the line. Just next time...tell me the truth. Lies just get people hurt.” Kassius says, standing up and walking away from him. Jaune looks back at Crocea Mors, which was pulled out of the water with him as well. Seems Pyrrha even remembered to get him his weapon as well.

All Jaune wants is to be able to kiss her, in a better way than the last one they shared.

The moment is suddenly interrupted when they all look up and hear the voice of Fear approaching them with his enraged voice. “Looks like I have to do this myself!” Fear roars, and Jaune looks at the sky to see the huge Bat flying towards them, the bat spins round in the air as the wings wrap round into a poncho around his body and his humanoid body forms, bones cracking and shifting as he lands. He slams his fist down into the ground and presses a knee into the soil, creating a crater upon landing. They all stagger back and get their weapons ready. Fear slowly lifts his hooded head upwards, his glowing golden eyes meeting theirs in the darkness and he smirks, laughing menacingly as he rises up and runs at them.

Fear darts and creates a haunting howl, which sounds like the sound of hundreds of men, women and children screaming in one collective scream. His body rattles so much that all they can see is motion blur, leading to a zigzag darting at great speeds towards her and he slashes at Yang, the impact throws her backwards across the floor. She tumbles across the dirt, the mud splattering against her cheek. Fear holds his scythe behind his back, staying low to the ground like a feral animal, ready to fight any of them. Sun yells, swinging his weapon towards him and striking his head, which has no effect to him. He unfolds his wings and strikes Sun with them as he spins round and kicks him in the chest. Sun yelps, falling backwards. Ren stands tall and he looks at Kassius and he nods at him, sprinting towards him, but Fear is far more powerful and fast than they are. He darts towards them and punches them off their feet before they can even strike. He kicks Ren into the air and then kicks him once again in the chest, sending him flying into a tree. He grabs Kassius and throws him into Neptune who goes to attack him.

Everyone gets ready but he stands tall, his eyes meeting theirs. “Come on then! Who’s next!” Fear yells, he looks up and he does not expect what comes flying towards him. A fireball shoots towards him and impacts his head extremely hard, and yet a squishy and soft impact at that. The impact confuses him more than anything, making the Knight of Fear stagger backwards and falling onto his arse. Yang is still on the floor and she slowly starts to get back up. The fireball bounces in front of her and she looks at it.

The flames extinguish and she gasps with disbelief. Fear looks up from where he fell. “What the hell was that?” He yells with shock.

A small, fluffy, black and white ball lays there, changing into the body of a small Husky Corgi that looks at Yang and yelps excitedly. “Zwei?” Yang gasps with disbelief.

Zwei runs up to her and starts to lick her adorably to show his happiness. Fear looks completely and utterly bewildered by the tiny dog. Then they all turn when a familiar voice appears. “Sorry we’re late.” A man announces, walking towards them with his fists clenched. He has blonde hair, just like Yang does, with a soul patch and small stubble on his chin. He also has a black tattoo in the resemblance of a heart. He wears brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, and a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armour, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm. Yang’s father has returned to Qrow, and unknowingly, Raven. Taiyang looks at Yang with a kind smile and she smiles back, unbelievably happy to see him. Qrow smiles happily to see him there, and Raven is not here right now, she is still searching the area with Winter to find a safe way to go.

Yang smiles when she looks at Fear. “Still surprising you?” She asks.

“Always.” Fear responds honestly.

But Taiyang is not alone. Stood with him are some other old familiar faces. The man that launched Zwei towards them approaches with a flask of coffee, His attire is dishevelled: his white shirt partially tucked into his dark-green pants and its collar rose, showing a slack yellow tie, along with mismatched brown and black shoes. He also has round glasses that appear to be opaque. It is none other than Professor Bartholomew Oobleck, and he takes a sip of his coffee before transforming it into his boomstick. Oobleck smiles as he looks at them all and then another man appears. He wears a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons. His pants he wears tucked into olive boots, similar in appearance and construction to cavalry boots. He has gray hair and a gray moustache and appears to be slightly overweight; when he laughs his belly visibly shaken up and down. Professor Peter Port stands proud with that smile on his face and his Blunderbuss in hand.

But they are not all that have come because of Qrow’s message.

They part and the real star appears, walking towards Fear. She stands tall, middle aged woman with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes are bright green and she wears thin ovular glasses. She has dangling teal earrings that match the hanging pendant on her collar.

She wears a white long-sleeved, pleated top that has a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body is covered by a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. She wears black boots with bronze heels, and a cape that is purple inside and black on the outside. The cut of the cape is stylized to end in flames and arrows, with a row of diamond-shaped bronze beads on the back. Above this line of beads appears an emblem of a tiara that is her personal symbol. She grits her teeth and swings her collapsible crop at Fear, launching a purple blast into his chest that makes him stagger backwards and he glares at the Huntsmen and Huntresses that have arrived.

Glynda Goodwitch has also come to save Ruby Rose from the forces of evil.

Fear staggers back and he transforms immediately into his Bat form and retreats to warn the rest of their forces, and she lowers her crop, turning to her former students. “Miss Goodwitch?” Weiss gasps, standing firmly before her and Glynda just smiles when she walks around them, looking at them. She then looks at Yang and she smiles firmly, looking at her cybernetic arm.

“You look well, Yang.” Glynda compliments, and Yang stands back up, petting the happy Zwei.

“Thank you, Miss Goodwitch.” Yang replies, and Glynda continues to smile.

“Please, it’s Glynda. You are all Huntsmen and Huntresses now, we don’t need those formalities any longer.” She says to them, giving them the strength to trust in each other. Qrow walks towards Tai and he grabs his hand and pulls him in for a hug. He pats his back and they break their embrace.

“Glad you got the message.” Qrow says to him.

“Thanks for telling us, I swear if we known this sooner, we would have helped.” Tai explains.

“We didn’t have time, everything was...a mess...we didn’t even know where to start.” Qrow explains.

“It seems however, that now we do?” Oobleck presumes, checking with his glasses and Qrow chuckles, happy to see the man again.

“It seems so.” Qrow agrees. He points at the huge mountain where the ship is landed. “We think Ruby is being held somewhere over there, it is where we last saw the Drift of Wandering Star.” Qrow explains and they all look at the mountains. Glynda nods and she looks at them all.

“Today, we are all doing this for a young girl who has touched many lives...time to repay the favour.” Glynda says to them all, and what a force they have brought with them. They all turn and see the fleet that they have amassed. The five Atlesian Vessels that the White Fang and Raven’s Resistance manage to steal fly overhead with a powerful roar, many Dropships flying out of it. Blake walks around as she watches with awe, and sees the old Blue White Fang Beowulf symbol on their ships as they fly overhead. She then sees a Bullhead flying low towards them, and she hears her radio being contacted by who is inside.

“Hey there! Is that a Rescue Mission I smell?” A familiar voice asks. The Bullhead opens and they are all amazed with happiness to see them alive. Inside of the Bullhead is a teenage girl with fair skin, short dark-brown hair, and dark-brown eyes. She has wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel. Her clothes consist of a long, cocoa-coloured shirt with a dark brown waist cincher. She wears long, dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets. Above it, she wears another cocoa-coloured belt of bullets with a gold crosshairs buckle. What appears to be a drape of black skirt hangs on her right side. She wears a pair of dark brown, high-heeled leather boots with buckles.

Beside her on her left is a teenage boy with dark skin and dark, messy copper hair that has a long fringe and a cowlick. He wears a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. His eyes appear to be pure white, giving off the appearance that he is blind. His arms are covered in scars, and he has a vertical scar on his lips. He also wears a pair of long black gloves and has several pouches attached to his belt.

On his left is a young teenage girl who as long, brown hair and brown eyes. She also has a pair of long, brown rabbit ears, making her easily identifiable as a Faunus. Her outfit is comprised by a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper, brown shorts with golden detail and black leggings. She wears a black, semi-translucent undershirt beneath her jacket, along with golden spaulders and vambraces on both arms, as well as a similar belt, and her heel and toe are likewise protected

Finally on her left, in the order as well, is a tall and athletic-looking young man with shaved-short black hair and tanned skin, wearing mostly pale-green and brown attire. He has a long short-sleeved robe, which he wears on one shoulder over a black muscle shirt. The robe is fastened at the waist by a leather armoured belt with two pouches on it. He also wears brown pants and black-and-green boots. His left arm bears a 5-layer sodewhich extends up past his shoulder. His weapon is affixed to his back with a padded brown strap slung over his shoulder. He also wears a pair of bracers as well as a pair of black gloves with green plates on the backs.

Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina and Yatsuhashi Daichi – Team C.F.V.Y.

Coco Adel stands with her briefcase in her grip and she tilts her black sunglasses down to look at them all with a smile on her face. Blake laughs with astonishment, unable to believe that they came as well. “Coco, Velvet!” She calls with happiness and they all watch as the Bullhead lands before them and the team disembark and walk towards them. Yatsuhashi rests his massive sword on his shoulder when he approaches and Velvet holds her box, perhaps holding many more weapons now.

“So...wish we were meeting back up under better circumstances.” Yatsuhashi says to them with his powerful voice.

“I couldn’t imagine better.” Yang says tearfully, instantly hugging Coco first and she hugs her.

“We’ll save her, I promise.” Coco assures. They all start hugging their old friends one by one, since they were all terrified that they could have been picked off by the Knight of Grimm in their attacks or by Merlot’s men that have been tracking them all down. Velvet adorably waves at the adorable Penny Polendina in the background. Coco turns and she looks at the massive bat as he flies back to the others.

“I’ve been itching to kick some ass lately.” Coco says with a smirk, lowering her glasses back down with her finger.

“I didn’t think you would come.” Qrow chuckles when he walks over.

“The invitation was open – unless if you’re refusing Team C.F.V.Y’s help.” Coco says with a big smile on her face and Qrow chuckles, walking past them and looking forward with them all stood behind him, ready.

“Let’s find Ruby.”

 

**Ruby**

Tyrian and Neo stand there and they both look at the fleet that has arrived and they look at each other. “We must warn our Queen!” Tyrian tells her, and she nods, following him towards the entrance, leaving Ruby on her own. Ruby looks forward at the fleet coming to rescue her, her eye widening with amazement at the coming force. Roman stands by her cell and he gasps with just as much amazement.

“This is incredible, look at that, Red! All these people coming here to save you...ain’t that sweet.” He chuckles. He then stops with wide eyes and then he glances over at her.

“Um...Red?” He says to her and she sighs.

“What?” She groans.

“Seems someone else is here to see you.” He says and she rolls her eye and turns to look at him. But when she turns, she sees the very person she never expected to see. She stands tall with a brown hood covering her head, hiding her face. She grabs the hood and pulls it back and reveals her face to Ruby, and she does not believe her eye.

She would look into both eyes, if the woman had a pair still.

It’s Cinder.

Cinder heats up the lock on her cage, melting it down to nothing at all and pulls the cage door open. Ruby gasps with shock, and then sees something landing in front of her.

Crescent Rose.

Cinder just looks at her and smiles. “Time to go.”


	46. Battle of the Roses

**Yang**

Yang stands tall at the other side of the battlefield, completely unaware that her little sister is actually being rescued at this very moment by an old foe of theirs. Glynda walks over to her side, looking at the valley of destroyed buildings that stands in their way, but before they get there, they need to get across the open field in between them. Glynda examines the area and Yang turns to her with concerned eyes, she knows that Salem is preparing something down there. “Any ideas?” Yang asks her with a shrug and Glynda looks at her and then at the valley.

“We lead a ground assault, the ships should take care of as much of the air force they have as they can.” Glynda explains. The three ships that they have managed to steal roar overhead, vehicles leaving the hangers and flying with them. A group of Dropships approach them and it descends behind them, each of them drops a large Military Grade transport that they can take to get the huntsmen over there as fast as they can.

“Got you guys a present.” The pilot tells them, flying off to catch up with the rest of the assault. Yang looks at the vehicles that they have been provided, other Dropships are delivering tanks and other vehicles for the soldiers on the ground right now. Glynda stops Yang with her hand and looks at her, with the eyes of a tutor but also a friend.

“You know that this is extremely dangerous, right? She has a lot of firepower down there.” Glynda warns. Yang nods and she stares at where she thinks Ruby is at right now.

“My baby sister is in there somewhere...no more waiting...we’re gonna get her back.” Yang promises. Kassius looks at a Bullhead that flies past him, and he spots a White Fang soldier inside that he never expected to see. She has a long Chameleon-like ponytail and freckles on her cheek. She looks at him, and all she does is nod at him.

“Ilia...” He gasps with disbelief. Of all the people to help save Ruby, she was not even on that list.  He then nods back to her and she looks forward, picking up a Rocket Launcher, putting her mask back on with her free hand. She points with her finger at the other side of the island, at the mountain and her eyes narrow with anger.

“Let us show them what the White Fang are capable of! For Menagerie!” Ilia roars. The White Fang soldiers that have joined them all cheer with her.

“For Menagerie!” They all cheer with one another; even Adam holds his sword high in the air. Sun and Blake look at one another and they smile, feeling happy to know that her father and parents deaths shall not be in vain.

Not after this momentous day.

Yang nudges Kassius’ shoulder to get his attention after noticing Ilia on that Bullhead; she has that cheeky smirk on her face as always. “Betcha glad you didn’t kill her.” Yang says and Kassius chuckles.

“Yeah...guess it was worth it.” Kassius agrees, Yang smiles at him to see that his good heart might have also just saved Ruby. She holds his hand and smiles, then they both look forward. Taiyang walks towards the many empty Jeeps that have been dropped down for them.

“There’s enough for us all to get down there.” Taiyang explains. They all get aboard their vehicles, Coco standing on the back of one of them with her Chaingun at the ready. She pushes her sunglasses down and smirks as she gets ready for the intense battle that they are about to head into.

“This is gonna be tense.” Coco excitedly says with a big smile on her face.

Blake hops onto the back with Yang, their weapons at the ready. She turns to look at Yang, getting her attention. “You ready?” Blake asks her.

“More than I’ll ever be...I just hope we won’t be too late.” Yang sighs with fear in her voice.

 

**Ruby**

She sets her hand upon the cold metal of Crescent Rose and she holds it up with awe at her current situation. It has felt like it has been years since she has seen her beloved Scythe, her eye looks up at her partner and Cinder moves backwards, shedding the cloak she was wearing. She wears her Black Fall Maiden Dress that was crafted for her to fight her enemies with, and now she seems to be ready to do so. “Why are you doing this for me?” Ruby asks with a very confused voice, raising an eyebrow.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, come on now. Tyrian and Neo will be back before we know it; we need to get to your friends. Let’s move.” Cinder explains to Ruby, holding her hand out and igniting a flame in her palm, her eyes narrow with anger when she glares down at the battlefield where the soldiers are moving. Acolytes of Lien Mercenaries begin to run up the steps to get a higher position on the invaders, but when they get up there, they set their eyes on the Fall Maiden and the Silver Eyed Warrior who stand by each other’s shoulders. Cinder dwarfs Ruby but she is far from weak. The soldier’s struggle to figure out what to do, and Cinder decides to take her opportunity, blasting flames into one, killing him and reducing him to ashes that are blown away in the winds. The other soldiers snap out of confusion and they begin to shoot at her. Cinder forms a barrier of energy from her semblance to deflect the bullets. Ruby stands tall and glares at them, she still remembers how to fight with her precious scythe, she bursts into red rose petals and lunges directly at the soldiers.

The curved blade slashes through the soldiers, beheading the three remaining ones in the process, blood pouring from where she hit them, the roses being carried off in the wind as she lands by their crumbling corpses. Ruby turns to look at Cinder and the Fall Maiden nods, and they start running forward. “Didn’t expect my day to go like this.” Ruby says to her as they make their way down the stone steps to where they are trying to get to. Cinder chuckles after vaulting across a rock to get down to the lower point.

“Trust me...neither did I.” She assures. Cinder runs down with her and she launches a fireball into a group of soldiers, killing them instantly from the blast. Grimm Beowulves howl to the skies, but when they hear the explosion they turn to their heads. The same Grimm that serve Salem, not the Relic of Choice that they have been defending. They glare at Ruby and Cinder and they roar at them, their allegiance to Cinder has been removed, and they all start to charge towards them with ferocity in their eyes as they run towards them. Cinder reaches back to her dress and draws her two blades, forming them from the dust that ejects out of the black scales of her dress. Her two blades form perfectly and she slices them crossways, cutting that Beowulf in half. Ruby jumps in the air and slices right through the middle of the other Beowulf, annihilating it from the attack. The red energy glows hot and bright from where they crash land. The head of the Beowulf slides across the floor before evaporating into black smoke that rises into the sky.

Ruby gasps with pain, grabbing her side with her hand and coughing. Her recent tortures have not recovered fully yet, and she feels blood leaking from one of her wounds that Tyrian gave her. Cinder approaches the younger girl and helps her back up, and Ruby looks at the taller person, someone she detested for a very long time for what happened to Pyrrha. But – things have changed, she is alive and Cinder has been put through much worse horrors than poor Ruby has been. “Thanks...” Ruby says to her with her sweet voice and Cinder looks at the blood dripping from her wound.

“I need to get you to a medical station to patch that up. We’re gonna need to fight hard, alright?” She tells her, and Ruby does not have the strength right now to argue. She sighs and nods her head up and down. Cinder then looks around; making sure that nobody is nearby. The Mercenaries have set up tents with many things and there must be a medical one nearby...but she is more concerned about an enemy of theirs finding out of her betrayal, and the freedom of Ruby. She helps her walk with her pain in her side and keeps her moving.

Cinder turns, and she feels relief carry across her body when she finds a small medical tent and she gets her inside and sits her down in the chair. She pulls the curtain doors shut and leaves them that way; Ruby groans with pain, hand on her side where the skin has been split from all the moving around. Blood stains her hand, the claret dripping from her clothes that have been torn constantly from her time around Tyrian. She then looks at Cinder with a concern in her eye. “Um...Cinder...” Ruby begins when watching Cinder searching through all of the supplies inside.

“Yeah?” She responds as she throws things she doesn’t need over her shoulder.

“You...do know what you’re doing, right?” Ruby asks her, raising an eyebrow. Cinder then looks at Ruby and smiles in a way that Ruby has never seen, a nervously kind one, an uncertain one. A smile that does not really give her the best comfort in the world.

“I mean...I did clean and patch up your eye...as best as I could.” Cinder explains, her eye wide as she says it, remembering the horrific wound that Ruby suffered. And she is right, she was the one that made and applied that bandage to keep her alive, and she is the best that Ruby has right now. She finds the equipment she needs, a stitching needle, some dissolvable string, rubbing alcohol and a bandage that she can wrap round the sixteen year old. “Okay, now this might –” Cinder cannot even finish her warning when Ruby interrupts her.

“I think I can handle it after what I’ve been through.” Ruby groans, untying her corset and lifting her blouse up to show the wound on her very thin body. From the lack of a decent meal in a long time, she has become much thinner than she already was. Cinder can actually see her ribs at times, which is a horrible sight to see. At least Hazel tried to feed her as best as he could when Salem kept sending him on missions, not like the Knights would do it.

“Was Hazel the only one that fed you?” She asks her, as she starts to push the needle into her body after using the rubbing Alcohol. Ruby does not even flinch at the feeling of the alcohol doing its work.

“He tried, bless his heart. I wouldn’t trust Fury with cooking; he’d burn it or get angry at it.” Ruby scoffs as she thinks about the Knight of Fury cooking. Cinder chuckles as well at the idea of it, amazed at how the young girl is handling what would be really painful with no emotion at all.

The distant explosions are keeping them both on edge, the battle is getting nearer and nearer by the moment. With Yang and the others in the vehicles to save them, they are in one hell of a precarious situation being so close to the Drift of Wandering Star, it might take off soon. Cinder takes the bandage and starts wrapping it around her smaller body, and Ruby looks down at her. “What made you change your mind?” Ruby asks her curiously, and Cinder looks up. Cinder sighs, looking down at the floor and then at her new friend’s skinny body to make sure she is doing it right.

“My brother...I thought he was dead...I was told that he was dead all my life.” Cinder explains to her and Ruby tilts her head curiously.

“What is his name?” Ruby asks, unaware of her blood-relation to Kassius Locke.

Cinder looks at her. “Kassius Locke.” She answers, causing Ruby to gasp and her eye widens with shock and utter disbelief, and Cinder finishes bandaging the young girl up, letting her do up her corset and blouse again, standing back up.

“He’s your brother?” Ruby inquires with disbelief.

“I will tell you later, when we get off this godforsaken island.” Cinder explains, almost shuddering at the situation.

 

**Salem**

She walks through the halls of the massive Chamber where the Relic is being held. Her hands behind her back as Death, Fury and Loss walk with her. The halls are dark with massive stone and metal statues guarding the way with swords pressed to the ground or axes in their hands. They are massive as well, looking down. Salem keeps walking with the three Knights, catching up to them are Watts and Hazel, moving behind her, Watts seems excited about all of this that is happening, whereas Hazel has more concern in his eyes, looking around the area as the mysterious woman walks. Hazel looks at Watts as he walks and he feels the need to ask him something. “Why did you do it, Watts?” Hazel asks him and Watts looks at him.

“Do what?” Watts questions, antagonisingly.

“What you did to the damn at that boy’s village? Neptune Vasillias?” He asks him, almost like he is judging the man and Watts scoffs with that evil smirk on his face. He walks ahead of Hazel and the brutish man’s eyes follow the moustached fellow, he looks back as he walks.

“We tried to destroy Mistral before; we intended to use the Dam to our advantage. But we underestimated the strength of their walls, so we waited for another opportunity.” He explains to him, and Hazel looks away. He clearly does not believe in any of this, all he has ever wanted is revenge for his daughter that was taken from him. He wants to kill Ozpin for he blames him for what happened to Amber Rainart once and for all, but this...this was not what he ever wanted to happen.

“I killed children...children because of their eyes. I have done unspeakable horrors for the duty of the Queen...” Hazel mutters to himself, thinking about the things that he has done. And Watts looks back at him as he says these things, a sinister glare in them as well.

“I don’t trust you; Hazel...you have become quite fond of those two children we captured.” Watts honestly warns him when he stares at the much larger man. He does not fear Hazel, despite the huge difference in size that they have.

“Their names are Oscar Pine and Ruby Rose.” Hazel snarls, walking ahead of him and Watts’ narrows his eyes as he watches him. Hazel is beginning to shake away from the side of Darkness right now, looking around the room. But they all stop when they hear the pitter patter of feet approaching, and the screech of a massive bat. Salem stops and looks over her shoulder. Tyrian, Neo and Fear approach them. Fear transforms back into his Knight form, rolling onto his knee to respectfully approach his Queen, his head held low before her.

“My Queen!” Tyrian calls breathlessly and Neo is beside him.

“What is it?” Salem questions, giving the Scorpion Man her full attention.

“It’s the allies of Ruby Rose...they have brought an army!” Fear explains to her, standing tall again, managing to make Tyrian look small in comparison. Salem sighs with annoyance, that they would never give up has become something of an admiration of their determination to save her. She then turns and looks at Tyrian, noticing that they are acting this afraid because they have come for _Ruby_...she glares right at Tyrian and looks extremely afraid of her, falling to his knees and praying to her that she would not punish him.

“Did you kill her?” She demands.

“No...Not yet, my Queen!” He admits.

“Why?” She questions angrily, her red eyes glowing fiercely.

“I...I”

“You wished to torture her more before you could kill her? Is that it, Tyrian?” She questions as she walks closer with extremely disappointed eyes and he stammers as he holds his hands together to her with terrified eyes.

“My Queen!” He begs, but she stops him as she catches his wrist.

“I gave you...a very – simple – task...and you refused to complete it?” She snarls with anger. “Do you not remember what happened to the last person who did that to me?” Salem growls with anger, referencing what happened to Cinder when it was revealed that she indeed failed to kill Ozpin, wherever the man is today. Tears begin to leak from his eyes, the fear of her being strengthened by the Knight of Fear that stands before him. He begins to wail in fear of being punished by the one he wishes to please the most.

“I will kill her! I promise.” He states.

“We must break them; they bring an army to recover her? They may recover her, her corpse.” Salem snarls, walking away, she then looks at Watts who stands there. “Inform Ortega; tell him to use his forces against those soldiers.” She orders.

Watts nods to her. “Understood, your grace.” He activates his comm link to the Drift of Wandering Star Bridge and he speaks to him. “Admiral.” He contacts.

“Watts.” Ortega responds, stood at the bridge and watching the enemy army headed directly for them.

“What’s happening out there?” He asks him.

“Looks like the girl’s friends have united the White Fang and some loyalists from Atlas and Raven’s group, and any others that have chosen to help. Huntsmen from Beacon and Mistral, Vacuo, you name it.” Ortega explains from what he can see of the army that is headed straight for them. Watts grits his teeth with anger, now that he knows that they have come here because they are the souls that have been touched by the good soul that belongs to Ruby Rose.

“You brought an army here, Ortega. Use it.” Watts orders and Ortega nods, lowering his fingers from his earpiece and turning to his soldiers on the ship.

“Get us in the air! And get the soldiers ready to defend the Relic’s Chamber! Let us show them what we are capable of!” He roars to them and the soldiers inside hold their rifles high, bellowing monstrously, gritting their teeth afterwards. The soldiers begin to set themselves up on the rocks and the ancient buildings built by the Arkhoni. The Grimm controlled by Salem begin to attack, and she has many from her Dragon that circles the island. The Bullheads fly towards the fleet incoming as well, and the Drift of Wandering Star’s afterburners activate, slowly lifting it off the ground.

Salem smirks as she stands there. “Dear old Ozpin...was this part of your master plan, I wonder?”

 

**Yang**

The trucks start to drive down extremely fast, bouncing across the soil with different people inside and holding on. The Architect holds onto the side of one of the vehicles with his metal hand, holding his rifle in one hand and aiming forward. Yang has her weapons ready to fire at them, Jaune is even coming as well, sat down at the moment whilst Velvet helps patch him up with some oils and ointments to fix him up. Blake holds onto the metal chassis with her pistol held in her hand, looking around as Oobleck drives them. “Looks like they are getting ready!” Oobleck points out as he drives the jeep fast across the soil.

“We just need to get inside! Follow the path, that was once a town, we can use the roads to get there faster!” She explains. The mountains are huge, archways that are held up before them. Except they are not naturally formed arches, they where once massive highways for the place that was build, most of the larger buildings have collapsed over the years, creating most of these islands to begin with. There are soldiers on the damaged highways and firing bullets at them already. Bullheads fly overhead and they all look at them as they fly over. The one that has Ilia inside moves ahead, and she aims that rocket launcher which sits on her shoulder and she aims it at the bridge.

“Look out!” She warns, launching the missile from the tube and it flies directly towards the bridge. The missile explodes and the soldiers scream, thrown from the bridge and plummeting to their ends as they crash into the ground. One of the jeeps bashes on top of one of the soldiers, crunching him like a biscuit, blood squirts absolutely everywhere from the impact as well. Yang holds onto the chassis, looking up at Ilia and she nods at her as she holds on.

“Thanks!” Yang calls, lifting her metal thumb from her fist with a smile. Ilia contacts her through her earpiece.

“We’ll hold the Acolytes, you get to Ruby!” Ilia tells them and Yang nods, watching as the Bullhead flies towards them. The three ships they have fly across the island and they fire their weapons towards the ground below, to attack them. More trucks start driving out from the defences with Acolytes aboard them. Some of the trucks are heavily armoured and some are just jeeps like the ones that they are inside of, with chainguns mounted onto the back. The Acolytes pull the triggers, yelling with anger and unleashing the beam of bullets towards them. Yang and Blake duck down, just like the others who duck down as well as the bullets hit the metal body of the cars.

“Looks like they’re sending the welcoming party!” Coco laughs when she unleashes her storm of bullets from her Minigun, blowing the head off a soldier’s head from his shoulders. Blood sprays from his shoulders and the body slumps off the car and tumbles on the road. Yang launches a missile from her bracer and it flies towards one of the cars that drives at them, the missile flies right into the driver’s seat and it explodes. The missile blows up, causing the whole vehicle to engulf into flames, the suspension detaches and it flips over and crashes into the ground with force. The burning wreckage flips and rolls across the green grass, the other vehicles just miss it.

“Too close!” Sun yells with shock as they just missed it. Neptune is in the car with Sun, and Weiss is with Kassius, using her Glyphs to launch them at the enemies that drive past them. Neptune fires his rifle into the head of the driver of one of the cars and as his corpse falls onto the wheel, the car spins out of control and into a frenzy of flips. Chunks of metal are sheared off and thrown from the car, bouncing along the terrain.

“Nice shot!” Weiss cheers.

“Thanks!” Neptune cheers back.

The drivers keep on driving, passing by the buildings that some soldiers are held up inside of, using the cover to shoot at them. One of the cars with their rebels inside of gets shot by a soldier with a rocket launcher, the missile clips the wheel and blows the end of it up. The car is thrown onto its side and it crashes forcefully. The car that the Architect is holding onto turns round to help them out. Inside of the car are Kragen Nox, Glynda Goodwitch and Fox Alistair. The car drives over to the injured soldiers and they all disembark to help them. The Architect aims his rifle and opens fire at the soldiers inside of those  buildings. Fox lifts his Tonfa up and the impact of a bullet sends him rolling backwards, but he recovers extremely fast. Glynda thrashes her crop forwards, and using her abilities, she tears the building apart instead of repairing it, causing the soldiers to be crushed by the debris that falls onto them. She also uses that group to shield the soldiers from incoming fire. “Get them to cover!” Glynda orders to Fox. Fox helps them get back and he turns a corner, his eyes widening when an Ursa Major swings its clawed paw at him.

He ducks down and pushes them out of its way. He slashes his red Tonfa across the arm of the Ursa and it roars with anger, hardly even taking any damage. He slashes it over and over again, then he punches it with both fists, passing energy into it and throwing it back. The body of the Ursa inflates like a balloon and huge spikes burst out from it when it explodes. Fox cracks his neck and smirks, running back to the soldiers to get them in cover. The Architect fires his rifle and hits an Acolyte dead in the chest, killing him instantly. Kragen stands tall and with his silver eyes, he builds up the strength to channel the strength into his irises. He then roars, unleashing the power of his eyes into the soldiers and freezing them where they stand in stone. The white energy eventually wears off from his eyes and he falls to one knee from exhaustion. Glynda catches him and pulls him behind cover. “Are you alright?” Glynda asks him.

“I’m fine...just give me a minute.” Kragen assures her. The Architect contacts Yang where he stands.

“Yang, keep moving. We will help hold down this sector for our men to hold the area. Good luck, we will catch up when this area is secure.” He tells her.

“Okay, stay safe. Good luck to you.” Yang responds, speaking to the same machine she once thought she would never befriend, and now she treats him like family. How things change so fast when people band together for a common goal.

Yang looks forward as they drive and her eyes widen with fear when she hears the deep roar of the thrusters of Drift of Wandering Star. The massive vessel appears as it rises from the mountains and flies overhead, the Broadside Cannons pointed at their forces to turn them all to ashes from that one attack. “That’s...not one of ours!” Kassius points out from shock when he sees the massive vessel flying across the sky.

“Get as close to the town as you can!” Port orders from where he drives and Oobleck nods.

“What? Are you out of your mind?” Weiss questions in shock, her eyes focused on the Drift of Wandering Star. The Broadside Cannons begin their assault, launching hundreds of shells down into the field at once, levelling the ground from the dust projectiles, tearing up the terrain and blowing up some vehicles that are driving. One of the brave Vessels that the White Fang stole from the Fall of Beacon flies towards the Drift of Wandering Star.

“No, he’s right! If we get as close to the town as we can the Drift of Wandering Star will struggle to hit us!” Oobleck agrees as he drives forward. Zwei sits in the car next to Oobleck, whimpering as he looks at the destruction.

“We will keep the Drift interested!” The Admiral of the vessel informs, the deafening bangs from their cannons firing and blowing holes in the hulls of both ships. Chunks of burning metal plummeting down into the ground, hitting the fields as they fight. A stray shell hits one of the mountains and there is a distant howl. Hundreds of Griffins and Nevermores swarm out from the mountain, except it is no mountain. It is the cone of a Volcano, for that is what this island is.

The island is a massive complex network of volcanic points everywhere. This place is set to blow if they all go off at once.

The shells also fall towards them as well, clipping buildings as they drive into the ancient settlement, chunks of old concrete plummeting and shattering above their heads, falling around them. They all keep their heads down as the buildings are blown apart by the efforts of the Drift of Wandering Star. Bullheads fly overhead to get to the mountains, but one of the shells hits the wing of one of them. Flames erupt from the wing and it spins out of control. “Damn it! We’re hit! I repeat we are hit! Bullhead going down!” The pilot yells as the auto-rotating Bullhead falls and crashes into a building, the roof collapses and the entire vehicle erupts into flames inside, smoke pouring out from the building and into the sky.

Oobleck blocks out the death and keeps on driving through the old town, and the closer they get, they realise that there are no soldiers in this part of the town. This place was a trap, for then Yang’s eyes focus on the massive black wings of the Dragon that move across the mountains. The Dragon screeches as it flies low above them, shattering the steeple of a church as it flies faster. The bone chest glows bright orange as it catalyses the flames in its stomach, breathing deep with a haunting hiss. It pulls its head back and then roars aggressively at them, vomiting flames towards them that consumes the town. They all keep their heads down and some soldiers are unlucky, being reduced to dust and their vehicles explode. The buildings set alight and begin to crumble from the Dragon’s breath. The Dragon banks round for a second assault. “The Dragon’s coming back!” Sun yells with fear when he sees the monster coming back and unleashing more flames. Sun looks back, seeing the flames coming straight for him.

The flames blow the car with him in it up and it throws him from the car with Neptune as well. They both crash into the ground, rolling across the ground in pain. The same happens to Yang and Blake’s, Oobleck and Zwei thrown from the car and they both fall into the ground, rolling across the ground with pain in their bodies. Yang’s ears are ringing and eyes fuzzy, hearing the faint roars of the Dragon as it flies around, burning the ground with its breath, torching their soldiers aggressively. Yang sits up and some of her hair has been burnt, her arms have been as well. Blake shakes her head with pain and her eyes instantly focus on Sun, seeing him not moving on the floor. “Sun!” She cries out, running over to him and holding him, sitting him up. He coughs with pain, smoke trailing from his body. “Are you okay?” Blake asks him with tears in her eyes, worried that she nearly lost him.

“I’m...I’m good.” He weakly assures, giving her a thumbs up. She pulls him into a building to take cover from the Dragon which has been laying siege to their forces.

“Damn it! That Dragon has just ruined the plan!” Neptune shouts with anger, throwing his fist into the wall, regretting it instantly after nearly breaking his hand, shaking the pain off. He walks around and he looks at Yang as she sits up, looking around. Taiyang is with them, along with Oobleck and Zwei. The little dog walks around and Taiyang looks out the window at where they are right now. Taiyang pushes his hand through his blonde hair, hearing the roar of the Dragon every now and then as it attacks.

“I thought that thing was frozen!” Taiyang says with shock.

“Yeah...Salem – unfroze – it.” Yang awkwardly says, shrugging her shoulders and he shudders as he paces back and forth. But Yang looks around and then she stands up, walking over to him. He stops and looks at her, and he knows his daughter, especially when she has something on her mind.

“Alright, spit it out.” Taiyang tells her, crossing his arms.

“Did you love her?” Yang asks him, actually looking pretty stern as well, and Taiyang raises an eyebrow at his daughter, walking over to her.

“Love who?” Tai asks.

“Summer?” She questions, and he has figured out now what is on her mind, scratching the back of his head.

“He told you the truth?” He asks.

“Fear did, he didn’t seem very comfortable with it.” She answers and he sits down, pressing his hand to his head. Sun stands there, still in Blake’s arms as he looks around.

“Hey guys? No offence, but can we keep moving? That thing is still out there! We’re running out of time!” Sun states but Yang sharply glares at him.

“Sun! Why don’t you go check the area?” She shouts and Sun looks quite annoyed at how she is acting. He scoffs and then he walks past her, towards the different exits. She immediately feels bad for shouting at him like that, but she needs to know the truth. And since they are not running from a Dragon or being shot at this very moment, it might be the very best time. Blake follows him and Neptune walks around as well. Leaving only Zwei, Oobleck and Port in there with them with their weapons.

“We’re gonna go check as well.” Port says, and Oobleck nods, walking with him to where they will check. Taiyang looks up at Yang who looks down at him, because he still lied to her as well.

“Yeah, Qrow is Ruby’s dad, I never was. After Raven left I was...I dunno.” He sighs as he sits there.

Yang feels the urge to tell him about Raven being here, but she never gets the chance to actually say anything because he keeps speaking. “After she left, Summer became pregnant with Qrow’s child, and Qrow knew that without Raven to balance out his Semblance she could die in childbirth...so he asked me to look after the baby and her when she was born.” He explains, looking down at the floor, and Yang sighs.

“He didn’t want to risk their health.” Yang sighs when she stands beside her father. Taiyang nods his head and then he looks up at her.

“I – I did start to love her after a while. We were together for years when Qrow kept himself far away from us, so then the two of you would be safe...but she never did...she always loved Qrow. And when she died...” Taiyang explains and Yang looks down at the floor sadly, understanding.

“You couldn’t bare telling Ruby you weren’t her father, it would have broken her at the time.” Yang realises when she says it, and Taiyang nods again.

“Something like that, yeah.” He agrees with a heavy sigh. He stands up and he walks over to his beloved daughter. He moves her hair from her eye and to the back of her ear. “But I have always loved you girls like you were my own, and you will always be my Sunny Little Dragon.” He promises, and Yang immediately wraps her arms around her father, burying her head into his chest, Taiyang holds her close, kissing the top of her head.

“Hey, Tai!” Port calls to him, Tai turns to him and Yang looks at the Huntsman.

“Yeah?” Tai responds.

“You...might wanna take care of this one.” He says, putting his hand on his shoulder with a shocked expression as he sits down, rubbing his brow. Taiyang looks at her and then at where Oobleck stands. Yang has a pretty good idea of what they are talking about from their shocked expressions.

“Now Dad, wait a minute, let me explain!” She begs him but Tai keeps walking and he pushes the branches out of his way, and his eyes focus on her. His blue eyes widen with disbelief when he sees Raven stood upon the rubble with her Odachi in her hands. Stood with her is Winter, but she is staying out of this. Tai looks at her and he cannot believe it, he was just talking about Raven and there she stands. Raven has a look in her eyes, one that even Yang never expected.

Guilt.

She stammers when she begins to speak to him. “I – I know what you’re gonna say, Tai...how could I have done that?” She scoffs when she speaks, and yet her voice sounds fragile, looking away from him every now and then. She cannot even look at him in the eyes, from how much guilt has formed over her. “Stayed away all these years and never came back to you? To our daughter?” She continues, her eyes glassy. “Well – how could I have returned after how I left after that argument, Tai? The things I yelled, the things our little girl must have heard at that age? I couldn’t face that!” She defends, and yet Tai begins to walk towards her slowly and she looks at him, her reasons hollow as she does not truly know why she never went back to him.

“I – I couldn’t! And after what happened to Summer, I couldn’t bare you blaming me for what happened because it was _my_ fault! Not Qrow’s, how could he be responsible for his curse! I was the one with good luck, I balanced that curse and me leaving got her killed! I knew you started developing feelings for her...” She explains, but Tai’s expression has not changed when he walks up to her.

Yang watches this momentous moment intently, her mother and father in the same room for the first time of her memory. She looks at Port when he brings something up. “And that is why I never married, never could beat a lady in an argument.” Port states, but Yang practically ignores what he says, watching them both. She then spots Raven backing up from Tai, dropping her Odachi from fear for some reason. She clutches her scarf tight with her hand as she lowers her head and looks at him with her eyes.

“I know I left you to raise Yang and Ruby alone...but I thought you’d be better off without me.” Raven says as she backs up and her back hits the wall as Tai gets closer and closer. “Oh stop it, Tai! Why do you have to be so stubborn? Shout! Scream! Just say something!” She begs, but silence fills the room when she feels his hand touch her cheek, her red eyes widen when he does it. He looks right into her eyes when he stands there.

“I thought _you_ were the stubborn one.” He says with a smile, and then his lips meet hers, their eyes closing and her arm wrapping round his back, holding him close. Two lovers reunited in that moment.

Her good luck brought him to her...and repaired that broken bond. Yang smiles with happiness from that moment.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby swings Crescent Rose across the chest of a Berserk Beowulf’s chest, killing it instantly. Whilst they have been trying to get to Ruby, Cinder and Ruby have come up with a little mission of their own. Cinder knows the systems that the Acolytes of Lien have, including the ones that have information on their current plans and schematics for weapons. Cinder is stood by a console, hacking into it with a device she managed to get a hold of during her time away from the gang. Ruby transforms her Scythe round into its rifle form and snipes a soldier in the head as he goes to attack them. “How’s it looking?” Cinder asks her.

“Clear, but I can’t guarantee that for long!” Ruby tells her as she looks around. More Beowulves start running up the steps to them and she spots them.

“Anyone coming?” Cinder asks again.

“There are two Beowulves...” Ruby says, slashing their heads off their shoulders with the curved blade of Crescent Rose. “...who aren’t coming.” She states with a smirk on her face, looking back at Cinder. Cinder’s device flashes green and they begin their escape.

“Got it! Let’s get out of here!” Cinder says to her.

“’Bout time!” Ruby cheers with glee as they start running down the steps. What they do not realise, however, is that they are currently being watched. The Lord of the Wood stands tall above them, the crows cawing around it as it watches menacingly. It transforms into its crow form and pursues them.

And the Lord of the Wood is not the only one coming after them.

 

Back at Ruby’s cell...

Tyrian sprints back and he has his fists clenched to kill her, tears still in his eyes after his terrifying discussion with Salem. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees the lock has been melted clean off and the door open, with Ruby completely gone. He glares at the empty cell, and something in Tyrian snaps. His eye begins to twitch and fists start to shake with pure rage in them. He grits his teeth with anger, staring in the direction that they ran and his Scorpion-Style Pincer Blades extend sharply and his face contorts with anger.

Tyrian storms towards where they went.

No more torture games.

No more charisma.

Now...he is going to kill Ruby.


	47. Triangle of One-Eyed Warriors

**Yang**

Raven stands amongst the rubble of the building that they found her inside of, Taiyang and Yang stood beside her. Raven watches the battle and she is looking for a way through. Salem’s Dragon is still laying siege to the ground forces, and they have no idea of where the rest of their team are at right now. Raven is crouched down as she looks around, trying to figure out where they can go. They can smell the horrific stench of burning flesh and the sound of fires roaring around them. The smoke pollutes the sky from where the enraged Dragon has been destroying their forces. And the occasional explosions from the Drift of Wandering Star makes Yang jump at times. Winter is stood there as well, climbing up the shattered floors to get a better angle on where they are.

Yang turns and she sees Blake returning with Sun and Neptune, Oobleck and Port walk with them. Zwei whimpers when he sits down next to Yang, looking up at her and she smiles at the little Corgi. “What’s it looking like?” Yang asks her mother, Raven sighs and she lowers her head, sliding her fingers through her black hair.

“Not very good at the moment.” She sighs, pressing her palm against her head. “The Dragon is wiping us out right now; none of our tanks can get a hit on the damn thing. And to make matters worse, there’s a massive Defence Turret that has been set up amongst the town. Nobody can close to it.” Raven reports, and Yang looks at where that thing is hidden. They must have placed it there during the storm, offloaded it from the Drift of Wandering Star and placed it within the ruins. The massive barrel is all that can be seen from the rubble of the structure, and then it fires. A deafening crack and the shell whistles through the air and explodes as it hits a car directly that was the closest to it yet. A golden flash of fire bursts from the car as the shell hits it, chunks of smouldering steel thrown into the sky and burning tyres bouncing down the hill again. The incandescent truck is thrown into the air and the burning wreck crashes down into the ground with a thud.

Yang looks around the area and she spots that they can go round, the cannon does not seem to have the best visibility on its side. “We can go round.” Yang suggests, pointing at the town where they can use the buildings as cover. But there is an equal issue there, the streets are just as open as the field is, the Dragon will easily spot them and reduce them to ashes.

“You sure you wanna risk that with that huge Dragon?” Sun asks. Yang watches the Dragon as it keeps on banking around, roaring stridently and breathing fire back into their forces. An idea then comes to her, they need someone who is small and cannot be detected by the senses of a Grimm. She activates her radio and contacts Penny, since they gave her ones as well. Hopefully she is okay.

“Penny? Can you hear me?” Yang calls, pacing around the destroyed building with her finger on the earpiece. There is nothing for a couple seconds, just static.

“Yes! I hear you, Yang!” Penny responds, the sound of the Dragon’s fire breath through the earpiece is pretty scary to hear as well. She can tell where she is now, however, when she sees where the Dragon just blasted fire into the town. She is further away than they are right now. They have been split up, but all they need to do is get a hold of that gun.

“Do you see that massive gun in the buildings across the field from where we are?” Yang asks her, and across the town, Penny looks around. She is taking shelter with some White Fang Militants. Alongside Weiss, Kassius and Qrow. Qrow ducks down when a bullet scrapes across the bricks and just misses his head. Penny peers through the destroyed walls and she looks for the long barrel that protrudes from the War-Torn landscape. Her green eyes spot the gun and she gasps.

“Yes! I see it!” Penny responds. Kassius looks at it as well, his amber eyes focusing on the destroyed buildings.

“We need you to get to the gun and disable it. Can you do that?” Yang asks her.

“Disable it? Whatever do you mean?” Penny inquires timidly.

“Take out the guys using it; we could use that thing to kill the Dragon!” Yang states, and Penny looks at the soldiers stood by the gun, shooting at them right now. She sighs and then she nods her head, getting herself pumped up.

“Okay! I can do this!” She promises. “I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t.” Yang says with a smile, ending the call. She stands tall and she sighs heavily, she is extremely scared right now. She has no idea if Kassius is okay, where Ruby is, where her friends are...

Taiyang places his hand on her shoulder and comforts her with a smile. “We’re gonna get through this.” He promises kindly.

“You sure sending her is the best idea? I mean – with her memory?” Neptune asks, walking over. Yang turns and looks at him.

“She’ll be fine.” Yang says, standing up and keeping her eyes on their path that they have. With Penny charging on the Cannon, they still need to get up there. Winter drops down from her vantage point with her swords in her hands.

“If we stick to the buildings we can stay out of the Dragon’s sight, but we still have the Mercenaries to deal with.” Winter explains as she approaches them with a shrug of her shoulders. Oobleck holds his Thermos Staff in his hands and he looks at the path that they need to make it across to avoid the flames of the Dragon that is flying overhead.

“Yes! That could work, and we can handle some simple Mercenaries.” Oobleck states with a smirk on his face. He seems to be enjoying himself, the flames burning from the tip of the weapon.

“I wouldn’t underestimate these guys.” Winter warns, since she they did manage to hurt her pretty bad back at Mistral when they went looking for her. But Port is still the same man he always was.

“Ha! More of a challenge? That makes this far more interesting!” He laughs, holding his Blunderbuss high. He and Oobleck take point and they are the first ones to charge out. Port fires the first shot and blows the ribcage of a soldier open, blood spraying everywhere from the impact. He yells with pain and crashes to the floor with a crater in his chest. Oobleck blasts the fire from his Thermos and he throws himself towards them and spins round, creating an almighty powerful spiral attack of flames. The explosion that follows wipes out around seven soldiers in one blast.

A Juggernaut soldier stands tall at the other end of the town with a massive machine gun built into his exo suit. The three barrels start to spin round and he already begins to shoot at them, causing them to jump behind cover that is being shredded down by the bullets. The grey barrels start to heat up to the point of turning orange, smoke trailing from them as he shoots. Neptune looks at Sun, and he nods at him. Sun clasps his hands together and activates his semblance, creating his Via Sun forms that stand together and Neptune jumps onto them. With their hands they launch him high into the sky and Neptune flies with Trishula in his hand. He channels electricity through the Trident and into the three prongs and as he falls, he slams the trident directly into the Juggernaut’s chest. The blades lodge in and the Juggernaut staggers backwards, but Neptune still has a second trick up his sleeve. His eyes glow bright blue and his hair brighter, the electrical energy powers up and passes through his body and into the weapon, overloading the dust charged fuel cells in the suit. The pack in the armour glows brighter and brighter as they overload and at the end, he pushes and away and jumps off the Armour. He lands on both feet; each arm of the Juggernaut explodes first before the torso erupts into flames and explodes. Chunks of metal are thrown across the street, but the body inside has been completely and utterly vaporised.

Neptune stands tall and he smirks as he takes in his badass moment, resting Trishula on his shoulder. Yang, Raven, Taiyang and Winter emerge from the building afterwards and they catch up to them. “Feel free to help at any time!” Neptune calls from across the street.

“You had it covered.” Taiyang says with a shrug and Neptune sighs, moving onward. He takes point, transforming Trishula into his Rifle form and he presses his shoulder against the wall. Taiyang walks forward but he stops when he realises that they are being flanked by the Mercenaries. The sound of their gear clinking and their heavy footfalls which tread upon the soil. He tightens his fist and Raven draws her Odachi and she peers round with her large red eyes.

One of them fires directly at her and she spins round with her sword, the red blade thrums as she turns and slices the blade clean in two upon impact. The bullet’s halving is perfect, and it passes by the others and shatters when hitting the concrete rubble in the ground. Taiyang rolls towards the solider and swipes his foot under the legs of the soldier and knocks him over. As he falls he punches the soldier hard in the head, fracturing the visor of his helmet and then kicking him in his side after he crashes against the floor. A Seeker suddenly sprints towards him, and at the speed he moves at he grabs the father of Yang by the throat and throws him into the wall. Taiyang grunts as the wall shatters like glass and he tumbles inside, dust pluming from inside. Raven swings her sword towards him, until there is a loud metallic twang and he deflects her red blade with a blade of his own. A long Katana is held in his hand and he kicks her in the chest.

Yang clenches her hands into fists, Sun stood beside her with his staff in his hand. He spins it through his fingers and nods at her. “Let’s take this asshole down!” Sun chuckles, smirking at the Sword-Wielding Seeker. Sun runs first and he slams Ruyi Jingu Bang against the Katana and the blade stops it in its movement. Whilst he does that, Yang swings her fist at his head to give him a harder time at fighting them. The Seeker activates his Enhanced Speed Pack and the orange dust glows bright from the backpack, and he darts between them and he punches Sun in the side of the head. Sun grunts from the punch and the soldier swings his Katana towards her once more.

She now has a bit of a fear of weapons such as those, but Oobleck darts towards him as he always did and smashes the Seeker in the chest with his Thermos Staff, the impact creates a loud bang but it does not kill the soldier, only pushes him back. Neptune fires electrical shells at him, but he turns his attention to the other soldiers arriving to fight them. One of them being a Quartet Warrior, he twists the dial on his chest and the dust pack attached to his Exo-Suit powers up. Three more duplicates of himself emerge, each one glowing different colours, and they open fire at him. He transforms Trishula into Spear Form and he spins it through his fingers at great speeds, conducting the metal with glowing blue electricity to make a barrier to deflect those bullets.

He throws himself behind a collapsed building and he smirks when he comes up with a plan. He lowers his orange goggles and then he sees the puddles of water across the ground, ones that he can use against them. Just like he did when helped Weiss escape the Acolytes when she first arrived at Mistral a couple of months ago at this point. He charges it up with lightning and then he stabs it into the puddles, the electricity is shepherded through the water and into their armour. The soldiers scream in agony as the electricity stabs into their bodies, their muscles constrict and their skeletons visible on their bodies as the lightning flashes within them. They eventually drop to the ground, and Neptune spins round and throws the still electrified Spear into the chest of a stray soldier that flanked him. The spear stabs straight through him and blood bursts out from the wound, the man collapses to his knees. Neptune walks up to him and pulls Trishula from his chest. He slumps forward into the mud with a groan. “Shocking behaviour.” He scoffs, he turns to see if Yang liked that pun but she is currently distracted by the skilled Seeker that is fighting them off right now.

Winter uses her Glyphs to launch herself forward, straight for the soldiers that stand in their way and she performs a graceful corkscrew attack as she slashes through some of them. The soldiers yell as she hits them with the blades that she holds. She slams one blade into the ground and focuses her emotions and senses to summon her Beowulves, summoning an entire Pack of them. The Pack of glowing white and blue Beowulves form from Glyphs and they howl at the Acolytes. The Acolytes aim their rifles and shoot at them, but they just charge towards them and leap towards each of them. One tackles a Soldier and gnaws at his screaming face whilst the others slash them into teeny tiny pieces.

She finally throws one of her swords into the head of a second soldier who also tried to flank her, killing him faster than he could be aware of. Blood leaks from his wound and she pulls her sword from his head that pinned him to the wall.

Port jumps at the Seeker and swings the axe head end of the Blunderbuss at the soldier. The Seeker turns and catches the Blunderbuss and uses his speed and slams his body into Port, knocking him over with force. The Seeker still holds the Blunderbuss and throws it towards his head. Port moves fast, rolling out of the way of his own weapon that nearly took his life, landing axe first into the mud with a splat. Port rips it from the ground and fires it at him, but the Seeker vanishes yet again, the shrapnel rounds bursting from the barrel and into the walls. The Seeker draws his Sub Machine Gun and starts to shoot at them all at those speeds, the bullets are held in mid air at his movement speed, but are still going to hit them at their time.

The Seeker stops moving at lightning speed and the bullets all dart at them and they get hit by them, their auras protect them from the bullets but they still took a hit, the built up velocity of all the bullets hitting them at once knocked them off their feet. Raven sprints towards the Seeker and slashes her Odachi at him, but he parries with his Katana, sparks erupting from the impact.

Blake yells, using her Shadow Clones to attack swiftly and aggressively at the Seeker, but the Seeker pushes Raven aside and he slashes his Katana at her. The blade cuts through the Shadow and Blake kicks him up the jaw and uses her dust to create an explosive shadow. As soon as it detonates, the Seeker speeds round the flames that are slowed down for him and he punches her and then Sun in the head, knocking them over. He immediately goes for Taiyang afterwards who just misses the blade.

Oobleck turns and he looks at Zwei who looks at him with a whimper. He sticks his tongue out playfully and Oobleck smirks. He aims up the shot like he is playing Baseball and he stares at the Seeker as he fights Taiyang, Raven and Yang. Yang punches at his head but the Seeker kicks her in the knee and then goes to behead her. Taiyang hooks his arm onto his neck and throws the Seeker back. “Don’t even think about it!” Taiyang roars with rage, his fatherly instincts coming into play as he protects his little girl. Raven jumps in the air to plunge her Odachi into his chest, but the Seeker activates the Backpack again to get out of the way and slice the Katana up her back. Raven yells with pain and falls to the ground. He stands there, above her and he slashes the blade across Taiyang’s chest too when he goes to help her. Taiyang lands on the floor and the Seeker holds the Katana high in the air to skewer her.

Zwei jumps in the air and Oobleck ignites the end of his thermos and slams it into Zwei, igniting the little dog into flames and sending him at the speed of a bullet towards the Seeker. The little puppy slams directly into his backpack and the Exo-Suit shatters like glass and the soldier stumbles out of it, still holding his sword in his hand. He stumbles and looks around with confusion at where he is, and then he looks down at the pup as he shakes the flames off. The soldier grits his teeth with anger and goes to kill Zwei with the sword.

Until the red Odachi blade bursts from his chest and his eyes widen with pain. Raven stands back up, glaring down at the soldier. “Don’t kill my best friend’s dog.” Raven snarls with anger, forcefully ripping the blade from his chest with a squelch. The Seeker’s body slumps forward with a thud in the mud. Raven flicks the blade of her Odachi and the blood slaps onto the floor. She turns and looks at her Ex-Husband and Daughter, and she smiles when she looks at them. She walks over to Tai and offers her hand to pull him back up to his feet. Raven then looks at the adorable little Zwei stood there and panting as he looks up at her.

“Does that dog ever age? I swear he was that old when Summer got him when we were kids?” Raven asks Tai when she looks down at the tiny Corgi with the happiest soul in the world. Taiyang chuckles, scratching the back of his head.

“I dunno, one of life’s great mysteries I guess.” Taiyang agrees.

 

**Penny**

 

Penny begins her strike on the Cannon, it is too hidden for her to use her powerful attack to kill the soldiers, and that would be too risky. They cannot risk losing a weapon like that; it could potentially kill the Dragon. Or at least injure it enough to make it retreat. She runs as fast as she can and she keeps her head down. “Disable the gun.” She repeats to herself as she runs to try and not forget it quickly. Kassius is running with her as well, along with Qrow and the others. He rolls across the ground and fires Vulcan Nox at one of the soldiers that is stood on one of the buildings. His dead shot aim kills the soldier, blowing a hole in his chest and knocking him off the roof of the building. He screams as he falls and Kassius keeps up with her. The crash of a human body landing on the ground can be heard over gunfire, but only faintly.

Like when he protected Oscar when he ran through Mistral with Ozpin’s Cane, Kassius rolls back and forth to stay in pace with her as she runs across the hill. She hops back on her toes as she whispers what Yang told her to do in her head. Until every now and then she falls off it, pushing her hand against the side of her temple. “Oh dear! What was it she wanted me to do?” She whimpers.

Nora suddenly shoots past her with a mad laugh as she slams Magnhild into the body of a Tank, creating a powerful pulse that sends the Cannon hurdling through the sky and crashing into the ground next to the little Android. The flames and smoke pour from the hole of the tank and she strikes a soldier in the head with the hammer. Nora turns and faces Penny with a smile on her face. “Disable the gun!” Nora calls to her, and the memories return at full strength.

“Thank you!” Penny calls as she keeps on moving, keeping the memory close as she runs with them. Qrow jumps forward and sinks his blade into the body of a loyal Beowulf, the blade cuts deep and straight through its body. Smoke pouring out from its body as it roars with pain before dying. He spins round and deflects the bullet from a soldier who shoots at Penny. She continues to run with them, Ren sprinting towards a soldier and he jumps at him, pressing his boots onto his chest and stabbing the curved blades of Stormflower into his ribcage. The soldier wails with agony and he rips the green blades from the soldier’s chest and shoots him in the head, killing him instantly, performing a perfect back flip as he dismounts. He lands and keeps running alongside her.

A Bullhead flies overhead but a Mercenary with a Missile Launcher aims it at the aircraft and pulls the trigger, firing a missile straight into the wing. Fire erupts and the engine crumbles from the wing and crashes into the ground. The Bullhead screeches as it falls with fire and smoke trailing from the wing, the craft collides into a tower before hitting the ground with a loud bang. The Cannon in the rubble fires, the bang is so loud and powerful where they are that it knocks some of them over, Qrow and Kassius stab their blades into soil to stay upright, their ears ringing from the sudden bang. The shell flies across the terrain and explodes into a truck that was driving towards it. Penny is terrified when she sees how many lives are being lost, why was she made this way if she does not have the mindset to handle combat on such a level as this. She stumbles across bodies and soil, keeping up with them, Coco runs with her, holding her Handbag in her hand, pressing a panel that transforms it into her Chaingun. The golden barrels spin round and she unleashes a spray of bullets into the enemies that lie ahead of them. The soldiers are cut down by her Minigun and she yells as she unleashes her rage.

Velvet is saving her box for the best possible moment, cannot risk wasting such a powerful weapon just yet. She must save it for the Knights of Grimm; otherwise it would be a mistake to use it here. She does, however, have superb fighting skills as she wraps her legs round the neck of a Tremor Soldier and throws him into a wall. She then kicks him in the head so hard that his visor shatters into little pieces. Yatsuhashi charges ahead and jumps unfathomably high into the sky with his gigantic sword in both hands, roaring as he slams it down into a bunch of soldiers, shattering the ground and taking them out. He grabs a soldier who swings a small sword at him and throws him into more soldiers.

His eyes widen when a Seeker sprints at him and attacks. Penny keeps on whispering her order to herself, ignoring her surroundings as she runs with them all. Weiss zooms past her with her sword extended and slashing it into the other enemies ahead of them. She forges a Glyph that sends her flying into the sky and then another above her that she pushes her legs against, firing her down at the soldier. She pushes the blade into his chest and drags him across the floor.

Oscar is here as well, clenching his hands into fists and cracking his neck, he focuses and stops time, charging towards a whole group of soldiers, punching each and every one them once. The force of the punch from a paused point in time fractures their helmets and takes them out instantly. He picks up the rifle of one of them and keeps on shooting. Penny clambers up a rock but a stray bullet hits her in the shoulder, making her cry out in pain, falling on the floor. She holds her hand against it, and the distraction has caused her memory to forget it once again. She presses her hands against her head from distress of what is going on, she whimpers in fear as she sits there.

A weak, but capable, Jaune Arc runs over to her and he touches her arm to get her attention. She looks up at him with a smile on her face. “Come on! We need to take out that gun!” Jaune tells her, standing tall and he uses his shield to deflect the incoming bullets from hitting the little Android. She walks with him and he holds his shield up, but they have no idea that there is actually a Juggernaut stood on the other side, aiming the Chaingun at them. Jaune’s eyes widen and he holds his shield there as the Juggernaut opens fire constantly, the never ending drone of gunfire and twangs from the bullets bouncing off his shield. Jaune yells with anger as he pushes on as the bullets deflect off the shield.

Kassius stands tall and he closes his eyes. “Hyde...” Kassius whispers to himself, he needs to bring Hyde into this if they are going to get through this. “Just remember who the enemy is, okay?” He asks him. Kassius’ veins glow fiercely with volcanic orange light, his skin cracking around it and the flames seem to burn within him. His eyes snap open with a burning hot red glow and he smirks, the voice of Mr Hyde coming through instead.

“You got it!” Mr Hyde roars, sprinting towards the Juggernaut that stands between the huge cannon and Penny. She can hack into the systems; they just need to get that massive Soldier out of the way. Hyde slashes Lash Equinox into the chest of an Acolyte which stands in his way, and then he leaps at the back of the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut roars with rage, stumbling forward and he staggers around with his gun firing wildly into the sky as Hyde stabs the blades into the backpack that will make the Exo-Suit overload. “Suck on this!” Hyde yells, slamming Kassius’ cybernetic fist into the backpack over and over again, the Juggernaut yells with distress as he reaches back to grab him but he cannot reach.

The monstrous fighting style of Mr Hyde is something to fear, he fights with animalistic ferocity, ripping pieces off and punching it until he has a way in. He reaches the metal hand into the core and tears wires upon wires out from the circuits of the Juggernaut’s suit of armour. Different things happen as he staggers round; the visors shut offline and cause him to be completely blind. He rips one out and the flares shoot out from the shoulders of the armour, along with a bunch of Swarm Missiles that explode around them. Penny runs towards the gun whilst Hyde is beating the living hell out of this Juggernaut’s suit of armour, sparks and flames bursting from the backpack that powers it. Hyde stabs one of the swords into the backpack of the Juggernaut, powering the suit down, and then he jumps in the air above the Juggernaut. He holds the sword in both hands and he plunges it through the back of the Juggernaut’s skull and pushing it straight through the mask. Sparks and blood pour from the helmet and he pushes it down to the ground with force.

He stands on the back of the Juggernaut’s corpse and he spins round and fires Vulcan Nox at the other soldiers that still perimeter the area. They shoot and shoot at them over and over again, the bullets flying towards Penny’s location, bouncing off the metal or just missing her. He moves so swiftly, aiming the Bracer Firearms at the soldiers as they run towards them and firing rounds directly into their domes, killing them instantly. Hyde laughs as he does it, killing one after the other.

The last one sprints towards Penny and he grabs the soldier by the collar and throws him onto a spike of metal that sticks out of the ground. Blood sprays from his stomach and he cries out in agony, but not for very long. Hyde points Vulcan Nox to the soldier’s skull and fires it, launching a bullet straight through his eye and out the back of his head. Hyde spins round and aims Vulcan Nox at who stands behind him.

Jaune’s eyes widen and he holds his shield in front of him and Crocea Mors ready in case he has to fight him to stay alive until he releases Kassius. But Hyde looks at him, and then he lowers Vulcan Nox instead of shooting him. Jaune is both amazed and shocked; Hyde usually would just attack right off the bat. But it seems...he actually trusts them now. Hyde smiles through Kassius’ teeth at him. “Nicely done.” Jaune compliments.

Hyde bows. “My pleasure, didn’t do too bad yourself.” Hyde compliments. A compliment from Mr Hyde, not something that any of them would have expected to emerge. The red eyes of Hyde then fade away and then amber eyes return, a calmer look on his face than what Hyde just had. Kassius smiles, amazing how there is actually a difference, Hyde is his own personality, his own identity to the very core. He just lacks his own physical form, despite his ability to see it in his own head.

“That was too close.” Kassius sighs with relief.

“Didn’t seem that way, you demolished all those soldiers.” Jaune chuckles as he looks around. Kassius just shakes his head.

“No, not that...I didn’t know if he was gonna pull the trigger or not.” Kassius tells him. He stands there and then he chuckles. “I’ve never felt his emotions like that, he...actually has grown fond of you guys.” He chuckles. Jaune smiles.

“I guess we should be honoured.” He chuckles.

“Oh yeah, he does not trust easy.” Kassius says, patting his shoulder.

“I’ve noticed.” Jaune agrees.

Penny focuses as she hacks into the controls of the cannon, using the wires to get into it. Sparks leak from the machine that she manipulates the systems in, and they all look around. The area has become secure of Mercenaries, but the Dragon is still flying around. And now is getting very close, breathing fire into their portion of the town now. “Guys! How’s it coming?” Yang asks from where she and the others are.

“We’ve gotten to the Cannon!” Weiss responds to her on her Earpiece.

“Well, try and get rid of the Dragon! That was way too close!” Yang ushers, Weiss looks at where the fires burn and where the Dragon just attacked.

“We’re working on it, is Neptune okay?” Weiss asks out of instinct.

“Yeah! He’s fine, is Kassius?” Yang responds. Weiss looks at Kassius as he helps check if the area is secure. He climbs up the wall; Coco looks around with her Chaingun in her hands.

“Yeah, he’s good. So’s Hyde...he thinks he trusts us all now.” Weiss reports with a laugh of amazement.

“Wow...that’s – unexpected.” Yang chuckles.

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Weiss agrees.

Penny then sees a bright green flash on the console, her green eyes widen with happiness, she claps her hands together and bounces on her toes. “I did it!” Penny squeaks, Velvet gives her a kind smile.

“Good job, Penny!” Velvet congratulates with a bright smile. Penny wraps her arms around the Bunny Faunus, catching her off guard from her strength that knocks her onto the floor. Coco stands beside Yatsuhashi and she watches the Dragon as it banks around the mountains again, the huge black wings cutting through the clouds. The screech echoes for miles and she narrows her coffee brown eyes behind her sunglasses.

“I had hoped to never see that damned thing again.” Coco snarls, remembering what it did to Beacon. Yatsuhashi holds her hand and she smiles.

“We’ll get some payback.” He assures her. The Dragon roars again, and they see its wings now coming round the mountain, and the huge Reptile is flying straight for them. The monster roars again, the bellow echoes across the islands as it gets closer and closer. Penny takes control of the gun and she aims it at the Dragon, her eyes focusing on the beast as it flies closer and closer. She pulls the triggers and the shell launches from the cannon’s long barrel with a deafening crack, the barrel whistles across the island, but misses the Dragon by a hair. The Dragon does not fault its path as it flies closer and closer.

She fires again, and the shell misses it as it ducks down and misses the shell. The shell lands in the sea miles away in a faint flash of white as the water is thrown into the air. The Dragon begins to inhale to breathe fire upon them all.

Penny closes her eyes as she does something that no machine could be capable of. She uses her aura to sense where it is, to make the shot that will hit it. She then opens her eyes, calm as ever, and then pulls the trigger. The cannon fires and launches a shell towards the Dragon. The shell impacts the side of the Dragon’s wing and explodes, breaking the wing and black smoke pours from the wound. The Dragon shrieks in agony and it starts to fall from the sky. They all duck as the Dragon falls overhead and crashes through the street of the town behind them. The titan completely levels the place to nearly nothing as its gigantic form shatters the land. But it is not dead, it crawls away from them and then spreads the wings out, weakly able to fly still, but not enough for any more attacks. The Dragon roars as it flies away from the islands, abandoning them all, including its mother.

They all watch it flee, feeling a sense of vengeance for Beacon and for all those that it killed in its attack. “Yeah! You better run!” Kassius cheers, throwing his fist in the air as it escapes from the island. The forces continue to make their charge, their numbers have dwindled from the attacks of that monster, but they have enough to make the attack. Weiss looks up at the battle between the Drift of Wandering Star and their ship that fights it.

Weiss then contacts someone else. “Adam? Where are you?”

 

**Ruby**

Ruby yells, leaping towards an Acolyte of Lien who stands in her way and fires his rifle at her. The bullets miss and she slashes Crescent Rose across his head, beheading him in that one swing. She turns and sees Cinder using her Fall Maiden Powers to fly towards a Beringel and she blasts flames into it which are so powerful that it kills the massive Gorilla in one attack. Ruby scoffs in awe at how flawlessly Cinder managed to kill that thing. “That is super O.P.” Ruby scoffs.

“Be glad I’m on your side now, kid.” Cinder states as she keeps on moving forward with her. Cinder runs down the steps and they are now on the fields, her eyes flit over to the young girl and she cannot help but question something. “You are taking my help extraordinarily well.” Cinder chuckles as she runs, and Ruby looks at her.

“You’re all I’ve got, and I meant what I said. When I said I believe people deserve a second chance, so that’s what I’m giving you. And Pyrrha is alive as well, so...yeah. I doubt the others will be as forgiving as I am.” Ruby explains as she runs. Ruby bursts into petals and she throws herself into the Creep that lunges at her. She swings Crescent Rose across it and cleaves it in two.

“Yeah...I realised that.” Cinder sighs, running onwards with her.

A flock of Crows caw as they follow them from above, spying with their glowing red eyes and smoke inside of the group. The Lord of the Wood has them in its sights, and it is going to stop them. Tyrian sprints after them as well, and they have absolutely no idea. Cinder clutches the data chip tight that she has on their missions right now. She slides down the hill and then throws one of her blades into the back of a soldier and beheads the other with her second sword, tearing the other from his corpse. Ruby fires Crescent Rose into the ground, using the recoil to launch herself into the sky. She then drops down and slams Crescent Rose into the chest of the Tremor Soldier that stands there, killing him instantly from the impact.

They keep running, until they both stop and hear something terrifying. “Ruby!” Tyrian howls with rage as he jumps down from one of the destroyed buildings with his blades extended. The Crows fly around him and then they come together beside him, forming into the Lord of the Wood that stands there. The burning red eyes stare straight at the pair and Tyrian’s teeth are gritted constantly. Cinder’s eye widens in shock and then she looks at Ruby.

“What happened to his eye?” Cinder asks her.

“Um...I – burned it.” Ruby awkwardly says and Cinder sighs with fear for their safety.

“Great.” She groans, still remembering his idea of _An Eye For An Eye._ Seems he aims to take that a little bit more – literally. He walks towards Ruby and when she turns to flee, she realises that the Acolytes of Lien have just surrounded them. Soldiers surround them and they all have Purple Dust rounds, ones that will kill them on sight. Even Cinder’s Fall Maiden Powers will not save her hear. They all back up into the middle and Tyrian keeps his fists clenched as he gets closer. Cinder is the first to kneel down with her hands by her knees. “Get on your knees, Ruby...” She tells her, and Ruby’s eye widens with confusion.

“What are you doing?” Ruby questions fearfully, then looking at Tyrian as he gets closer.

“They have Purple Dust rounds, Ruby...we don’t stand a chance.” She states and Ruby just wants to fight, and then she looks at the massive Leshen that walks round them, keeping its burning eyes on them, remaining silent as it walks. The Crows sit on the body of the Leshen as it walks. One of them is sat on his antler, cawing over and over again. Ruby closes her eye and then she bends the knee to him and then remains there on her knees. Tyrian laughs maniacally as he holds his hands out as he walks around.

“Would you look at that?” He laughs as he stands there. “Two birds, one stone!” He scoffs, looking at Cinder and Ruby. “Two single eyed warriors...how ironic.” Tyrian scoffs when he crouches down and looks at Cinder. The pretty girl glares at him with anger in her eyes when she glares at him.

“Good to see you again.” Cinder scoffs when she glares at him. Tyrian smirks menacingly as he stares at her. The three One-Eyed Warriors stand there in a triangle, all staring at one another. Tyrian madman personality has never been more clear than it is now; the Leshen stands tall beside him, looking down at Ruby. The long bark claws scraping against one another, enough to frighten anybody.

“You know...I’d say likewise...but...” Tyrian scoffs at her and she continues to glare at him. He then looks at her dress, then at her eye again. “You really think that they will forget who you are? What you’ve done?” He asks her, pushing her finger to where her scar of Fury’s print is at. She grits her teeth with anger at him for that, how she wants to reduce him to dust...but they would all die anyway.

“As long as I get to redeem my mistakes by helping her escape...what they think means nothing to me.” Cinder explains, and he chuckles as he looks at her. He then turns to Ruby who keeps on glaring at him with hatred.

“Oh...my little flower.” Tyrian sinisterly whispers as he caresses her hair, but she pulls her head back away from his hand and he chuckles once more. “You really are a feisty one.” He says to her, but Ruby silently stares at him. And that truly frightens Tyrian from that cold hard stare that she is giving him right now.

“Leave her alone.” Cinder demands, and Tyrian slowly turns his head to face her. He laughs at the situation, almost guffawing at it as he approaches Cinder and crouches down before her.

“What? I didn’t quite catch that, would you mind speaking up?” Tyrian inquires, and Cinder gives him a stare of her own, her amber eye glows fiercely as she feels her power growing stronger.

“Leave. Her. Alone.” She growls, and Tyrian still cannot fathom this coming from Cinder’s mouth, of all people.

“Weren’t you the same gal who tried to kill her?” He interrogates with a chortle, and Cinder looks down at the floor with her only good eye.

“I changed.” Cinder answers.

“That you did.” Tyrian smirks. He then crouches down before her and he keeps on staring at her with those mad yellow eyes, the damaged one is not fully blind but enough to be seen as a blinding wound. But now he seems serious. “Of course – our incredible Queen is not so forgiving as the little Red Rose is.” He continues. Ruby turns her eye slightly and notices Torchwick stood there.

“This guy is crazy.” He chuckles as he walks around. He stands by Tyrian and stares at him, but when he talks, the Lord of the Wood glares directly at him. The Leshen can see him stood there. “Hey Scorpio? Can you see me?” He laughs. He steps away and vanishes from Ruby’s vision again. A Bullhead with a soldier on a machine gun is pointed straight at them right now, hovering above some of the soldiers.

“Our delightful Queen – demands punishment.” Tyrian states with a smile. Then he continues to her. “I’m gonna kill Ruby now.” Tyrian informs Cinder with the most calm voice, it does not seem to faze her in the least. Cinder’s eye twitches with anger, and it truly shows how much Cinder has changed for the better, because she actually cares for Ruby’s safety. She has had enough of this madman get his way with her, and now she wants to save her life, of all people.

“I’m gonna make it one – long, painful screaming end. Make it last as long as possible because she has earned it for _this_.” Tyrian explains as he points at the branded scar across his eye that Ruby gave him during her daring escape with Oscar. He then taps the side of Cinder’s head, her long black hair rippling from the impact of his finger. “I just want you to put that in your brain and roll that around for a second. I’m gonna slaughter Ruby, and then – when she’s dead – I’m gonna take your _other_ eye.” Tyrian explains with a laugh, his wrist blade extending towards her amber eye and Cinder actually jumps a little from it. Cinder is about to say something, until Ruby beats her to the punch.

With one chilling statement.

“Go ahead.” Ruby tells him, Cinder turns and looks at Ruby with a shocked expression. It takes Tyrian a moment to comprehend what Ruby had just asked of him, even the soldiers are surprised. The Lord of the Wood watches her every move, the Crows all watch as well. Tyrian stands up and then walks over to Ruby and crouches down before her to stare her in the eye just as he did earlier.

“What was that?” Tyrian asks her with a chuckle. Ruby glares into his eye defiantly.

“Go ahead.” She repeats.

“Do it as slowly and as painfully as you like – but if you think killing me will change anything then you’re wrong.” Ruby begins and Tyrian glares into her eye with anger at how she is no longer afraid of him. “I promised you already – you are going to die. One way or another. Either you kill me and my friends kill you or you kill my friends and I kill you – it doesn’t matter!” Ruby giggles as she sits there, still managing to scare Tyrian from how she is giggling at how she says these things about his fate. She then leans closer to his face, staring right into whatever soul he has left.

“But _nothing_ is gonna change that, nothing.” Ruby snarls, her teeth gritted, and then she whispers into his ear.

“You are already dead.” She promises.

Tyrian stares at her with a fearful and yet angered expression. His mouth frowning at her and his eyes narrowed with anger, he takes a deep inhale of air to not unleash that anger upon her as suddenly as he can. But that frown transforms into an insane laugh, one that starts off as a giggle and then builds up into a fully fledged cackle. One that Cinder has heard before, when he slaughtered that Beowulf after Salem shamed him in front of her. The laugh that has scarred her and made her fear him ever since. His cackle echoes across the town and then he calms down, his scorpion tail of hair hanging down by the side of his face. “Damn...” Tyrian gasps with amazement at her powerful words that she threatened him with. “Wow...Ruby.” Tyrian adds as he shakes his head at her.

Then he adds something to the end of his quiet words. “Okay.” He quietly says, walking round to her back and Cinder remains there with scared eyes. She is about to get up and attack Tyrian. Ruby however is not afraid of death; she just lifts up her chin and closes her eyes. Pain is somewhat an old friend to her now, after being tortured by him for so long. She hears the scales of his scorpion tail crunch as it rises up behind her and his eyes turn purple. “This does not feel difficult for me, for I do not intend on dying just yet!” Tyrian shouts as he thrusts the tail towards the back of her neck to plunge venom into her nervous system.

Suddenly a missile flies over them and explodes into the wing of the Bullhead. The wing buckles and shatters with flames erupting through the black, red and gold paintjob given to the Bullhead. Smoke bursts from the wing and it starts to spin out of control and crashes into the ground. The Bullhead’s wreck crushes some of the soldiers stood under it; the others scream and flee when they see where the rocket came from.

Tyrian stumbles away from Ruby, but the Lord of the Wood remains still and just looks round his shoulder and glares at who is coming. They see Ilia stood on the cliff face where the rocket was shot and she thrusts her fist in the air as the White Fang soldiers lead by Adam Taurus come charging in to save Cinder and Ruby from Tyrian. Tyrian Callows staggers away and runs back from them, firing the guns in his Pincers at them and taking cover. Ruby and Cinder look at each other and then they see Adam running towards them.

He strikes a Soldier down with Wilt and Blush, killing him instantly and he stands with Ilia stood beside him. “Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang! Let us end these Traitors and Acolytes!” Adam yells and Ilia stands next to him, firing her pistol at the soldiers. He points Wilt and Blush forward.

“Ruby Rose will not die! Not on this day!” He roars, the soldiers charge forward and Ruby picks up Crescent Rose, slashing it across the chest of the Acolyte of Lien that was stood next to her, and Cinder’s eyes erupt with fire burning out of them as she floats into the air and blasts flames at them.

The Lord of the Wood turns his head, when he senses something else.

His eyes focus across the whole battlefield when he senses the presence of his other half. Nora and the others are so close now, running up the steps towards where they are currently at, only a field between them.

He transforms into a cloud of Crows and they fly towards Nora and the others. Tyrian watches as the Lord of the Wood leaves them and his eyes focus onto Ilia Amitola as she extends her glowing gold whip that cracks as she glares at him. He snarls and extends his blades, sprinting towards her and leaping right at her. She swings at him as well, preparing to fight him.

Chameleon vs. Scorpion.

Nora stops, her eyes widen in fear when she sees and hears the Crows approach. The Leshen forms and he steps closer, his fists clenched tight as he stares into her eyes.

Round Two.

They are so close...


	48. Remember Me?

**Nora**

Nora’s cyan eyes look right into the burning orange eyes of the Lord of the Wood. The bark creaks as it stands there with no emotion in its face. The sharp fingers scrape against one another as it stares directly at them all. “Wh-What is that thing?” Yang asks with fear when she sees that thing. They have all been reunited after the Cannon was disabled, so close to where Ruby is now. Ren grits his teeth with anger, and they notice his hatred towards the demon that follows the girl he loves with all his heart.

“The Lord of the Wood.” Nora answers fearfully, and the Leshen has not moves yet, just remains motionless with the two eyes looking through her exterior and into her soul. “The monster that has been following me all my life.” She answers, and they all stare at it. Coco smirks and she aims her Chaingun at the being.

“Let’s blow it to bits!” Coco cheers, the barrels begin to spin round as she aims at the monster, but Nora knows that destroying the body will not free her of that thing.

“It won’t go.” She tells her.

“We can still get it out of our way.” Port tells her with a smile, loading a fresh shell into his Blunderbuss and aiming it at the beast. Coco unleashes her fury from her Chaingun, firing thousands of bullets towards the Leshen, but all the Leshen does is hold its hand upwards. Roots extend from the fingers of the creature and they form together into a shield of some kind that deflects the bullets away from it or catches them in the roots. Coco keeps on firing and stops after a couple seconds when she realises that it is a worthless act of aggression when it does that. The barrels have heated up to a golden glow with smoke trailing from them, her eyes widen behind her glasses and then it lowers its hand.

“I don’t have enough ammo for that thing.” Coco scoffs, after noticing how it just ignored all those bullets. The Leshen lowers its arm and then stares back at Nora, who holds onto her Hammer tight.

The Crows begin to congregate behind it and it slowly lifts its finger up and points at them all. The Crows form from the black smoke and their caw endlessly as they fly towards them. “Look out!” Weiss yells as she holds Myrtenaster high to form a barrier in front of Nora who has become frozen with fear. All she can see is the monster that murdered her parents and the three boys that picked on her when she first arrived at Kuroyuri. _It’s eyes...gods the eyes..._ The Crows collide into the barrier but there seems to be an infinite swarm of them, forming from the shadows that emerge from the body of the Demonic Being. Blake spots that it is focused on Nora still, she could use that time to get a hit on it when it is not looking. She darts to the side to flank it, moving slyly and fast like a cat, she holds Gambol Shroud in her hand and she aims her Magnum at the Leshen, firing a bullet towards it. The bullet grazes across the side of the skull that is atop the wooden body. The Lord of the Wood only grunts, stumbling a little bit from the bullet that hit its vulnerable bone skull.

Blake charges towards the Leshen, Weiss and Yang in tow as they attack the massive Leshen. The Lord of the Wood slashes downwards at Blake as she forms a shadow, narrowly missing her and she swings her sheathe across the shoulder of the creature. Splinters of bark fracture from its arm, Weiss yells as she forms a Glyph and shoots towards the Leshen and plunges her blade into its chest, holding on as it walks around. Yang pounds her Cybernetic fist into its chest and it staggers as well. Yang looks at the others. “Get to Ruby!” She yells, until she can barely speak from being choked by the bark hand of the Leshen. The Lord of the Wood lifts her up in the air and then throws her into the soil with force. It then slashes Blake across the face and she cries out with pain, hitting the floor and it summons the swarm of Crows to attack Weiss at once.

Weiss screams as they slash and peck at her, pulling her from the Leshen’s chest. The Lord of the Wood grabs Myrtenaster and stares at it in its hand and releases it, letting it fall to the floor. The burning orange eyes focus onto Nora, and the black smoke forms around its wooden body. The Leshen transforms into the swarm and it moves towards her. The cloud of darkness bursts open and the Leshen lunges forward to grab her. The hand just misses when Ren kicks the Leshen in the head to make it stagger. The Leshen immediately returns with a back-hand strike that knocks Ren onto the ground.

For something so slow, it can move very fast when it needs to. Jaune grits his teeth with anger and he runs towards the Leshen, shield held high and he uses it to protect himself from the swarm of Crows that have been unleashed upon him. Their crystal beaks scrape across the metal shield of Jaune’s sparks bursting from the impacts of their small feathered bodies. Jaune pushes against them, straining as he pushes on against the swarm, their feathers floating around him as he continues to push on. He yells as they push him across the floor. The Lord of the Wood stands tall with its finger extended forward at the boy.

Coco opens fire again, her teeth gritted at the beast, however the Lord of the Wood forms another shield of roots and leaves that protects its body from the firepower of her Chaingun. Coco groans out of disgust and she runs with Yatsuhashi at the monster, she strikes it with her handbag but the Leshen catches her wrist and holds her high in the air. Yatsuhashi yells as he jumps at the Leshen to cut its wooden arm from its elbow to free her. The blade slices across its arm and it releases her with a snarl with anger in its voice.

Oobleck lunges forward with Port for another attack; they all begin to attack it at the same time, slashing over and over again at its wooden body. Until it snarls with anger, the arms stretch out with long vines and roots growing out from the heart of shadows and it spins round, knocking them all onto the ground. They cannot attack it with their own methods.

It may be slow, but it is smart.

And very powerful.

It can take a hit better than they can, so no matter what they all try to do. Whether they attempt to take it in turns or in once overwhelming attack, it will be able to counter them. The Leshen’s arms return back to their normal length, much like how the Nuckelavee could stretch its arms, however the Lord of the Wood only did so with its arms for a moment.

Ren groans with pain, hand against his head and he looks at Nora who is still frozen from fear of that thing.

Raven swings her sword at the Leshen but it grabs her by the neck and forces her down into the ground with force. It has learned their tactics, how they all fight in one moment.

There is only one way that they can destroy its body.

Have someone that it is not here right now challenge it.

It takes a couple steps back. It is powerful, but also outnumbered by the amount of Warriors who stand before him. Yang, Weiss and Blake get back up with their weapons at the ready, staring at the being. The Lord of the Wood growls, the leaves begin to rattle across the moss covered bark body, and it clenches its hands into fists. It howls unbelievably loudly to the sky, roots growing from different places of its body, and it slams its hands down into the soil. The roots pass into the ground, the soil rumbles and quakes, chunks of dirt being overturned as something very big begins to rise out. Huge roots burst from the soil and they look at the Warriors, attacking down at them with hate and force, the sharp tips of the roots pushing down at the ground where they are. Some of them feel the roots crawling from under the soil and cocooning around their bodies, their legs first so them they cannot move. Velvet feels the roots picking her up and holding her up in the air with her limbs held out in display, the same happens to the rest of them. They all begin to feel restrained by the Lord of the Wood’s abilities.

The Leshen glares at them, some of them however managed to escape the grasp of the roots. Coco tries to break free with anger, the rest of Team R.W.B.Y are stuck as well, trying to break free with little success. “Nora!” Yang screams, seeing he is the only one that the Lord of the Wood did not try and restrain. It slowly walks towards her, the burning hot eyes staring into those Cyan ones. Ren stands beside her and he glares at the monster that slowly approaches them.

Yatsuhashi roars and he forces his arm against the roots and his strength shatters the roots, freeing him and he falls from the roots that stand tall from the soil that holds them all in place. He stands beside Ren to protect Nora from the Leshen. The Lord of the Wood stops in its tracks, staring at the two who stand there. It turns its head when it realises that one of them has not been contained in the roots.

Oscar is not there.

It turns back to the others, and now Oscar stands with Ren, his fists clenched as he glares at the Lord of the Wood. Yang and Kassius look at each other and they both use their cybernetic arms, straining as they push against the strong roots as hard as they can. The roots crack and powder falls from them as they shatter. They rip the other roots from their body and fall from the restraints, landing on the soil. They too get their weapons ready. Ren turns to the two. “Get the others free...we’ll keep him occupied.” Ren tells them both, Yang smiles and she nods, running over to Blake and ripping the roots loose from her body. Kassius goes to Jaune and starts to do the same, and whilst they try and get them free, Ren stares at the Leshen who still stands there.

It does not fight dirty; it waits until they are ready. Ren stands in front of Nora with his fists clenched. “I know you can understand me, Lord.” Ren begins and the Leshen just stares into his soul menacingly. The Lord of the Wood’s orange eyes stare into the pale pink irises of Lie Ren. The Leshen scrapes its claws against one another slowly as it stands there. “Know this – you can hurt me, beat me down, even kill me...but I will never let you touch _her_!” Ren roars and he sprints first towards the Lord of the Wood.

The Lord of the Wood crosses its long arms over each other to block Ren’s strike with both Stormflowers. The blades scrape across the arms of the beast and it takes a step back and then returns with a fast and hard slash at Ren. Ren ducks down and just misses the sharp wooden claws of the monster as it attacks him. Yatsuhashi roars as he jumps and swings his sword towards the Lord of the Wood. The Leshen dodges the blade by walking backwards, but Yatsuhashi returns with a second swing upwards that slices across the bark chest of the creature, a roar of pain erupting from the Buck’s Skull. The Leshen slashes with its clawed fingers across Yatsuhashi’s chest plate, chipping off the paint and sparks burst from the impact.

Oscar sprints through paused time towards the Leshen and he strikes the Leshen in the back of the leg, making the Leshen grunt and fall to one knee. Ren grabs onto the Antler of the Leshen and he pushes down into the ground and shoots at its head. The bullets hit the skull, cracking the white structure but that only seems to infuriate the beast. The Lord of the Wood grabs Ren by the ankle and throws him back and forth into the soil and then into a rock. Ren groans with pain from the impact, feeling his bones vibrate from that impact. Nora grits her teeth angrily when she sees Ren being hurt by the Lord of the Wood, and she goes in for an attack, yelling as she runs.

The Leshen’s eyes glow bright orange as it stares straight at her, and her scarred print on her collarbone glows red again, burning her and she cries out with pain. She presses her hand to her chest where the mark is placed. She falls to one knee, and a freed Weiss Schnee pulls her back. Yatsuhashi roars, holding his sword with both hands as he goes to split the head of the Leshen in half, but the Lord catches the blade with its hand and then kicks him in the chest, stealing the blade and throwing it at him. Yatsuhashi rolls out of the way just as the blade sinks into the soil where he was once laid.

Kassius grabs the main root that holds Winter there and tears them all done in one swift movement. She falls from the roots and lands on her knee. She glares at the Lord of the Wood and then with the help of a Glyph she zooms towards the Lord of the Wood at great speeds. The Lord of the Wood turns its head when it senses another attacker coming in for an attack of their own. The Leshen swings its arm towards Winter but she forms a barrier similar to how Weiss deflected the Crow Swarm and then slides under the legs of the Leshen and then stabs it in the back, using her dust to freeze its shoulder.

The Lord of the Wood staggers and then she swings both blades across the chest and back of the Lord. Bark splinters shatter from the body as she hits it and it snarls with anger. Each of them start to return to the bout against the Tree Spirit to kick its butt.

The Leshen swings its arms round, attempting to knock them all down again, but they remember and they all avoid it in their own ways. Glynda, Kragen, Fox and the Architect walk over the hill and they see the Lord of the Wood as he fights them all at once. The Architect looks at Glynda with a chuckle in his computerised voice. “Think they need help?” He asks her, and she gives him a rather stern look as she always does.

“What do you think?” She scoffs.

“As Nora said – _let’s kick some ass_!” The Architect remarks as he charges forward. Glynda looks at Kragen with a confused expression at how he is acting.

“Is he – always like that?” She asks,

“Not at all, I think the kids changed something in him.” Kragen chuckles, running forward to catch up with the Architect. Glynda smiles.

“Of course they did.” She agrees.

Oscar darts back and forth as he punches the Leshen in the head doing some damage to it. He rolls and then throws a Time Bubble onto the Leshen, freezing it in place. Kassius frees Coco and she transforms her Handbag back into Chaingun form as she aims it at the Leshen, unleashing the fury of her thousands of bullets into the bubble. She laughs with happiness as she does it as well. All the bullets collect together in one sudden impact of hundreds of rounds in a second. The bubble bursts and the impact launches the Lord of the Wood backwards into a rock with force. Ren gets back up and he grits his teeth at the Leshen as it continues fight back.

It has surface damage but it does not look like their efforts have done any serious damage it.

They need to find a way to kill it.

The Lord of the Wood towers above them as it stands tall, and then it holds its arms out and it roars to the skies with power. The howls echo for miles, and the Grimm on the island look up, their eyes glowing with the same ferocity as the Leshen as they are summoned by the spirit. They all turn and make their charge towards them.

Ren senses their approach and then sees the Lord stomping towards them. “We’ve got incoming, guys.” Ren realises with fear when he sees the Beowulves charging towards them, roaring and howling.

 

**Cinder**

She slices her blades across the chest of a soldier, killing him instantly and he screams with pain. Blood sprays from his wounds as she does it. She then throws her sword into the chest of a Valerian Knight, created by Merlot Industries. The blade lodges into its power core, sparks burst from the core and it staggers backwards before exploding into little pieces. Cinder smirks as she does it, but not villainously anymore, she is now on their side. Whether they like it or not, Ruby darts past Cinder in her Petal Dash form, slashing Crescent Rose through three soldiers and taking them all out in the process. They all scream as they are thrown into the air from the fast attack. Cinder ignites the flames in her hand and she unleashes the fireball upon a soldier who was stood there.

Ilia has been facing up against Tyrian with Adam for a while now. She cracks her golden electrical whip at the mad Scorpion Faunus and he jumps over it to avoid it and he lunges forward with his barb, just missing her. He jumps and strikes at her with his Pincers, slashing over and over at her, but Adam steps in front and blocks them with Wilt and Blush. Every time the blades impact his red one, it flashes red and his hair faintly begins to glow. He laughs through gritted teeth, throwing himself over Adam and kicking him down the back of his head. He then roundhouse kicks Ilia in the head, sending her flying.

He keeps on searching for Ruby, trying to figure out where she is. He snarls with anger and he rushes forward to find her. But then the golden whip wraps round his neck and Ilia pulls him back with force and she punches him in the head extremely hard. Cinder smiles when she sees Ilia defending Ruby from the madman. Adam slashes Wilt and Blush hard at Tyrian, the red light trailing behind every movement of his sword and Tyrian keeps on jumping backwards. He wraps his tail around the wrist of the blind man and then pulls the sword from his fingers, sending it flying. The blade misses Cinder by an inch and wedges an Acolyte of Lien into the wall, blood leaking from his lips as he is pinned there. Tyrian does not even notice that he just killed one of his men; he does not even care about it. He then slashes towards Adam, but the warrior uses his hearing and special awareness to avoid the sharp blades.

He pushes one out the way and punches Tyrian in the face. Tyrian roars with pain as he staggers back from the punch. Ilia then gets him in a choke hold with her whip and then throws him into the wall with it, sending cracks up the wall.

Cinder cannot keep watching them fight however, when she realises that Ruby is being pinned by a Seeker. The Seeker sprints with her when she uses her Petal Dash and he manages to tackle her out of her dash and into the ground. He pins her down to the ground with his sword and Ruby gasps for air as the Seeker is about to kill her brutally by slitting her throat. Until storms begin to form above him and lightning strikes down and through his head, electrocuting him to death. The man screams in agony as his backpack detonates and Ruby rolls aside. Cinder stops manipulating the weather, for she still has not got the best grasp over how to use her powers without being exhausted so quickly from using the powers as strong as that.

Ruby pats her shoulder and then fires a round into the head of a sniper on a Watchtower nearby, killing him before he could shoot any of them. Adam looks at where he can hear Ruby and Cinder, deflecting Tyrian’s blade and kicking him away from both he and Ilia. “Go! Find the others! We’ll hold Tyrian and the others off!” He orders. Ruby and Cinder nod and they start to fall back. Cinder stops and she looks back at him with a message.

“Adam! Stay safe!” She tells him, Adam nods and he spins round with his sword and blocks both the attacks from Tyrian as he laughs maniacally.

Cinder jumps towards a Juggernaut and she charges her attack up, sending an unbelievably powerful fireball into his huge Exo-Suit, reducing him to ashes in the blast.

Tyrian slashes his blades across Adam’s chest and then kicks him in the chest, Adam grunts with pain as he crashes into the rock. Ruby and Cinder keep moving towards their friends as the White Fang hold the area. However they did not notice that Tyrian was starting to win the fight between him, Ilia and Adam. He strikes Adam across the head with his tail and stares at Ilia.

Ilia lashes the whip round his waist and then she changes colour, blending in with the bushes as she moves around. She swings around him and then returns back to her humanoid colour as she kicks him in the chest with both feet. Tyrian grunts, falling backwards with force on the pavement. He snarls with rage as he turns and then sees Adam running towards him and swinging Wilt and Blush towards him, the red blade cuts through the air with ease as he goes to behead Tyrian, but he ducks down and spins round with his leg stretched outwards, kicking Adam across the side of his head. Cracks spread across his mask that hides his blinded eyes and Adam touches it, feeling the damage.

Tyrian sprints straight for Adam with a massive smirk on his face and he jumps towards him with his blades extended. Suddenly the golden whip wraps round his neck and Ilia pulls with all her might, spinning round on her heel and launching him into the building with force. Tyrian grunts with pain from the impact, the whip collapses back into her weapon and she paces back and forth, her large eyes focused on the insane Faunus as he gets back up. Adam pushes his sword down in the floor to get back up, listening carefully for where Tyrian is, and he can hear the panting in his voice as he springs back up to his feet.

Tyrian glares at the two of them as he walks around them with his blades ready, and the guns attached to them are ready as well. “You picked the wrong side, White Fang.” Tyrian snarls with hatred in his eyes, like a feral animal that watches its prey. Ilia stands tall, her long tail of hair hanging down behind her.

“Depends on where you’re standing.” Ilia states.

A long smile grows on his face as he stares at her, his Scorpion Tail rises over his shoulder and by the side of his head as he aims it at her. “Indeed it does.” He agrees, and he suddenly dashes towards her and he slashes across her aura field with his blades and she yelps from the sudden attack. She staggers back from where he attacked and then he lunges for her again with both blades, but Wilt and Blush stops him from getting closer. He smirks and laughs as the two barrels attached to his pincers unlock and extend outwards, opening fire. One of the bullets hits his mask and the side of it fragments like glass. Adam yells out with pain, staggering back when it hit him. Tyrian rushes for him and he jumps in the air and slashes down the side of his head, knocking him onto the ground.

He then spins round and swipes his tail into Adam’s chest, sending him flying through a concrete wall that explodes upon contact. Adam groans with pain where he lies on the floor, his aura waning from this battle against Tyrian Callows.

The mad eyes of the Scorpion Faunus turn and he stares at Ilia, his next target and he rushes for her the same way. As he did when he fought Team R.N.J.R, his attacks are aggressive and fast that he can afford to make a mistake because he would have already made a second attack afterwards. And that is what makes him such a lethal opponent, he jumps at her and he slashes downwards, and she rolls aside. Her aura is not as strong as the other Huntresses and Huntsmen; she needs to remember that against him.

Tyrian lashes out at her, spinning round and hammering the blades down at her, slicing across her aura over and over again with force and hatred. Ilia yelps with distress, seeing her aura is being cut down chunk at a time. Ilia roundhouse kicks Tyrian in the side of the head with her heel and Tyrian rolls away from her. She activates her Whip and shoots it towards him, but he avoids it by rolling out of its way.

She grunts with fear as he gets closer and closer to her. Her aura is nearly depleted.

She cracks her Whip towards him but he catches it with his bare hand. He then starts to wrap the whip around his forearm to pull her closer. He then yanks it forward so hard it takes her off her feet and pulls her straight towards him. His blades extend on his other arm and he laughs maniacally when he plunges the blade through her stomach. Blood squirts, her eyes widen with agony from the feeling of a cold steel blade puncturing through her stomach. “Ilia!” Adam yells with horror, reaching out for her from where he heard the sound of her pained gasp. Adam rushes back to help her, but Tyrian knew where he was. Tyrian wraps his tail around his neck and he chokes him as he holds him there. He lifts Ilia up and then throws Adam down the steps for Tyrian to enjoy what he does next to her.

He extends the other blade and then he horrifically begins to stab her over and over again in the chest, blood spraying out from every wound. The terrible sound of skin and muscle flesh being torn as he stabs her over and over again in the belly, chest and even neck at one point. She gasps for air from the agonising fate that Tyrian has placed upon her, stabbing her over and over again, creating a pool of blood around her body as he slowly and brutally kills her. Blood splatters against the side of Tyrian’s face as he stabs her, but then he stops, after around ten stabs into her body. He stands up, blood covering his hands and he staggers back, smirking at the claret that covers his body and her own. He giggles to himself at first, but the chortle grows and grows into a cackle as his arms bend back and he bellows to the sky with the same insane laugh he had when he slaughtered the Beowulf in front of Cinder in the exact same way.

He sprints away from her to get Ruby, leaving her to bleed out on the ground. The other White Fang have continued to attack the enemy, whilst she slowly dies on the floor.

 

**Jaune**

Jaune lifts his shield up to stop the attack of a Beowulf that lunges at him, its eyes burning bright with the possession of the Lord of the Wood that approaches him from behind. They have become swarmed with Grimm. Coco bashes a Creep across the head with her Handbag and the creature roars with pain. Glynda uses her crop, tearing the rocks from the ground and forming a spear that she throws straight towards the Lord of the Wood. The Lord turns and holds its massive hand out, roots and vines spread from the fingertips of the beast, pulling the spear apart rock by rock and then letting it fall around it. The Leshen stares at her and the crows congregate around it as it flies straight towards her.

The smoke in the Crow Swarm bursts open and the Leshen forms from the darkness, slashing the claws towards Glynda. The skilled Huntress ducks down and slides back on her toes, just avoiding the claws of the Lord and then she cracks her Crop across its head, making the skull recoil slightly but it does not stop there. The Lord points towards her and the crows all swarm towards her with aggression and she swings the crop forwards to shatter their forms. The Architect sprints towards the Leshen and he jumps at it, kicking it up the jaw with his metal foot and the impact actually makes it stagger back. He punches the Lord of the Wood in the chest over and over again with his metal fists, cracking the wooden chest over and over with the force of his titanium body. The Leshen catches his fist and then pulls him closer as the Lord of the Wood goes to plunge its claws into his chest to tear his power core out.

But the Architect jumps up and kicks the Lord of the Wood in the chest. The Architect tumbles away from the Lord of the Wood and the huge Leshen keeps on coming, it does not give up easy and it slashes harder and faster to kill him. Kragen and Glynda now strike together; Kragen blocks the blow of the Leshen with his Isomacium Staff, the sharp claws scrape across the staff like the teeth of a dog against a beach ball, unable to get any grip. Sparks burst from the action.

Yang slams her fist into the side of a small Deathstalker’s skull, crushing its head into the ground so bad that it has instantly killed the creature. Fox sprints in and he slams his fist into the chest of a Beowulf, spinning round and slashing his Tonfas across its belly and head, killing it quickly and skilfully. Penny jumps into the air and slashes her blades across the legs of a Creep to render it immobile and then she slams all the blades down into its head. She turns her head when she hears the other struggling against the Lord of the Wood not far from them. The Lord of the Wood lifts Kragen up by using the roots in the ground and restrains him. It slams its fist across Glynda’s face and the grabs the Architect by the throat. Her eyes narrow angrily when she sees the monster hurting her friends. “Hey!” She shouts, the Leshen turns and stares straight at her. Penny spins her blades round and aims at the Leshen, charging her energy blast up to full strength as she prepares to fire.

The thick beam of green light erupts from Penny and impacts the Lord of the Wood in the chest, knocking him off his feet and he snarls with anger and pain. The Lord of the Wood scrapes across the ground, using its arm to protect its face from the hot blast of energy that burns the wood to charcoal in places. It then howls and pushes its hands into the ground. And just like before, roots burst from the ground and wrap around all of their bodies. “Oh come on! We just freed everyone!” Kassius yells with annoyance when the Lord of the Wood restrains them all. Oscar tries to avoid it but the Lord of the Wood managed to catch onto his ankle so tight that he is too weak to break free. The Roots pick him up and hold him up in the air.

Nora strains with distress as the Lord of the Wood stares at her, slowly approaching her, its eyes staring into her soul as it approaches sinisterly. Ren reaches out for her but the Leshen manipulates the roots to wrap around his neck, threatening to snap his neck as it did to her family that time when they first met. Nora feels the burning sensation on her heart as the Lord of the Wood gets closer, about to kill her. “No!” Ren pleads.

The Lord of the Wood thrusts towards her, but then it stops, staring at her as it stands there, the claws ever so close to her stomach to end her life and the curse that binds them together. They all look at the Lord of the Wood with confused eyes, but then it slowly turns round and stares at something that is coming straight for it. Jaune’s eyes widen with disbelief when he sees who is.

Her long ashen black hair blows in the wind behind her as she flies straight for the Lord of the Wood with flames behind her. Her amber eye narrowed in on the massive Leshen as it turns to face her. Cinder slams herself into its side, fire bursting out across its body and the Lord of the Wood growls with anger as it staggers away from Nora. “Sapphire?” Kassius calls out with shock, and whilst she fights the Lord of the Wood, she looks at Kassius with a smile.

“Hey bro!” She responds as she draws her swords from ash and slashes them across the chest of the Lord of the Wood. The Lord’s bark body cracks from the impact and his eyes begin to burn hotter and with more anger, if she can get the Lord of the Wood to go berserk, it will make him weak enough to destroy.

However it will also make his attacks far more dangerous. The Lord of the Wood slashes straight down at her but she rolls out of the way and unleashes fire from her palm onto the body of the Leshen. She then with her other arm swings up and slashes across his face with the powers of the Fall Maiden. They are all trying to break free from the hold of the roots to try and assist her, but the Lord of the Wood remembered how easily the stronger ones got free, so he has doubled the amount of roots that has wrapped around them. Their only hope now is for Cinder to be able to beat the Lord of the Wood.

How things change.

The Leshen goes to grab her but Cinder jumps and kicks the Lord of the Wood across the skull, making the monster stagger backwards. It continues to attack and attack, swipe after swipe to cut her down. The Leshen stands tall and then points at her, the eyes of the Tree Spirit stare into her soul, glowing brighter as it summons the Grimm around them to attack her. As the Grimm all charge towards her, she ignites the flames in her hands and condenses it between her palms, charging up to let out one extremely powerful pulse of fire to kill them all in one swift attack. The fire grows hotter and hotter, growling more and more as she holds the power in her hands.

She yells as she releases it, throwing her arms out and a ball of fire erupts from her body and engulfs the Grimm, just missing the others who are still held up by the roots. Jaune does not know how to approach this situation, the murderer of the girl he loved is now helping them and the girl he loves is actually alive. _Why can’t anything be simple?_ The Beowulves roar as they are reduced to smoke that blows away in the pulse, and the Leshen is pushed back by the flames.

The Lord of the Wood stand stall again, and it points at her once more, summoning the Crows to attack her once more. The crows all caw at once as they form from the darkness that surrounds the Demonic Being, the swarm come for her, their crystal skulls gleaming in the light of the sun. Cinder smirks as she sees the demonic birds flying towards her and she ignites the flames in her hand and she blasts the fire straight at them all, reducing them all to ashes apart from their diamond skulls that land on the soil around her. She lowers her hand, still smirking at the Lord of the Wood, which is clearly becoming angry from how its attacks are having little effect against the Fall Maiden.

Cinder’s eye gazes down at the leaves that have fallen on the floor and she points her hand towards it as the leaves rise and freeze in the air, thrusting her arm downwards so then the frozen leaves would impact the body of the Leshen, carving chunks of the bark from its body as each hits it. The Lord of the Wood snarls in pain, trying to shield itself from the frozen leaves that are launched towards it. The Lord of the Wood stares straight at her, its hands clenching into fists.

The eyes burst brighter with fire and the Lord of the Wood howls to the skies with rage, its arms held out as the fire erupts from its skull and engulfs its wooden body. The bark cracks and becomes more like charcoal that wood, embers trailing from its infernal body. Cinder launches towards it again and the Lord of the Wood has finally gone berserk, slashing faster and harder at her, so fast that Cinder cannot even avoid some of the Leshen’s attacks. The claws slice across her tough aura and then she rolls aside when the Lord slams its claws down towards her.

Cinder slashes across its belly but when she does, the Lord of the Wood brings its fist down extremely hard into the back of her head, nearly knocking her out from how hard it hit her. The sound of the punch echoes across the field, and then with its other arm it grabs her by the throat, holding her there as it stares down at her. She gasps for air as the Lord of the Wood chokes her in that position, lifting its over hand above its head, razor sharp claws ready to kill her, snarling with anger.

But then Cinder smiles when she sees something behind the Lord of the Wood.

Red Petals...

Cinder even starts to laugh as well, confusing the Lord of the Wood as it stares at her. “Did you really...think I was alone?” She laughs.

The Lord of the Wood slowly turns round when it sees her. Yang’s eyes widen with happiness, a tear shed in her eye when she sees her. “Ruby...” She gasps.

 

**Ruby**

 

Ruby rolls across the field and then bursts into her Petal Dash form to move faster, before transforming back into her human form. She slams Crescent Rose downwards and rides the scythe as she gets closer and closer to the Leshen, her petals trail from her as she zooms towards it. She jumps off, sliding past the Leshen and she swipes Crescent Rose across the Leshen’s bark legs, cutting them clean off and the Lord of the Wood roars in pain, falling over in pain as the legs come off in one movement.

The Lord of the Wood releases Cinder and uses that hand to try and stay upright as Ruby comes back for a second attack. She leaps at the Leshen and stabs Crescent Rose into its back and swings into the air over it and then rips the curved blade from his spine. She spins round and slices his other arm clean off and the Lord of the Wood howls in agony from the amputation. She then stabs the blade of Crescent Rose into the back of the Leshen’s skull, splitting the Buck’s Skull in half. She pushes her legs against the back of the Leshen, flipping through the air and bringing Crescent Rose up its spine.

The Lord of the Wood erupts into a cloud of smoke and becomes the Six Beowulves that land and tumble across the soil. The Beowulves stand tall as they stare at her, snarling at her as they see her land before them, in front of her family. She holds Crescent Rose tight, staring straight at them.

“Remember me?” Ruby questions with a smirk.

The Six Beowulves roar and they charge towards her and leap straight for her. Ruby spins round and with one arm she holds Crescent Rose, bringing the scythe round and slicing all six heads of the Beowulves from their shoulders, red energy bursting from their interiors and black smoke erupting from their corpses. Ruby stops spinning round and she looks at where the Lord of the Wood once was stood, resting her weapon on her shoulder with a smile. “Tell your Queen and her buddies, that Ruby Rose is back.” Ruby snarls with anger, her eye narrowing.

The roots that held them all up crumble into dust, blown away in the wind. She deactivates Crescent Rose and attaches her to her belt in her deactivated form. She turns and sees them as they fall from where they were held. Yang’s large eyes focused on her baby sister who just saved _them_ instead of the other way around. But Yang is not about to complain about anything, and she runs towards her sister and wraps her arms around her so tight.

Yang cries into her little sister’s shoulder and Ruby holds onto her, also with tears in her eye as she holds onto her sister that she has missed so dearly. Cinder has her hand close to her throat where the Lord of the Wood had her to its mercy with; some bruising formed there, nothing she can’t handle however. Kassius walks over to her and he hugs her, surprising Cinder as well, since how their last meeting went. Giving Kassius scars across the side of his face.

Reunited at last.

Yang holds the back of Ruby’s head, able to feel her hair again, to hear her voice again. It has felt like years since they last saw each other. Yang releases her sister after a few minutes, eyes soaked with tears and Weiss and Blake approach. They both hug her as well, tearful with happiness to see her alive as well. When Yang stands there, her eyes look over to Cinder as Kassius releases her from his own hug to have his own sister back again. She walks towards the woman who was once their enemy and then she looks at Ruby. She pieces it together and can barely speak from all the emotion in her right now. “Di-Did you get her out?” She stammers, and even Cinder has a tearful eye as she looks at Yang. She smiles and just nods her head as an answer. Yang wraps her arms around Cinder, which amazes Cinder even more than when Kassius hugged her, she never expected someone who was her enemy to hug her like that. “Thank you...” Yang whispers into her ear.

They all essentially take turns in hugging each other there, and as they do, Kragen, Architect and Glynda stand nearby, watching the heart-warming moment of reunification of family. Tears of happiness...for once.

Cinder smiles and she looks down at the floor shyly at the moment.

Oscar stands there and Ruby looks at him, a big smile appears on her face and she wraps her arms around him extremely tight. He slowly puts his own arms around her as she holds him so close and kindly, her head buried into his shoulder. Jaune smiles when he looks at Ruby there and he puts his hand on her shoulder. “Missed you Crater-Face.” Jaune kindly says to her with a smile, making Ruby giggle shyly. For the first time in a few months.

Ruby has been able to smile.

Ruby notices that team C.F.V.Y, Glynda, Port, Oobleck...Taiyang...all of them are here. Qrow for whatever reason has been the one who has not said anything yet, he is speechless to see his daughter is okay. But Ruby does not know about that truth yet, about who her real dad is, and she runs to Taiyang’s open arms and he holds her tight. She is still a daughter to him as well, and he won’t ever stop loving her. Taiyang kisses the top of her head and smiles gently.

Ruby takes a few steps back and he looks at them, seeing Raven holding Taiyang’s hand as well. “You all came...for me?” Ruby asks with a frail voice, tears streaming from her eyes. Glynda smiles when Ruby notices her and she smiles back.

“Could never leave such a good person behind.” Coco says to her. Kassius pats her head with his hand when he walks over to her.

“Good to have you back, Knucklehead.” He says to her with a smile. Ruby smiles and hugs him as well, she has hugged everyone, but when she stops hugging him, she turns and sees her real father – Qrow. She looks at her with a smile and her eye widens, she sprints to him and jumps into his open arms as he holds her close. She keeps her arms around him as she holds onto him tight.

Perhaps...she already knows?

“Don’t ever leave us again.” He begs, his voice breaking.

“I’ll try.” She sniffles.

Whilst this touching moment happens, Kassius and Blake hear something coming through their earpieces. Something that catches their attention to something less heart-warming. It comes from a Bullhead that a White Fang is piloting. “Amitola is down, I repeat, Amitola is down.” The pilot reports, Kassius’ eyes widen and he looks at Blake who shares the same concern. Kassius looks at Yang, and she must have heard it as well.

“Go.” She allows with a smile. He and Blake sprint up the hill to where they came from.

 

**Kassius**

Kassius sprints across the war torn landscape and he sees Adam crouched down beside the bleeding body of Ilia Amitola in the floor; she has been bleeding out for a long time now. From her neck, her body...everywhere.

It is a horrific tragedy.

“Ilia!” Kassius calls out, he drops down and slides down beside her and Blake stops next to Adam who is just looking down at her body. Part of his mast fractured from is bout with Tyrian when she was still fighting. She is still alive with raspy breath, Kassius rests her head on his knee and he holds her hand with his Cybernetic Hand. Kassius looks up at Adam who just looks mournful for what has happened. “What are you waiting for? Get a medic!” He orders, but Adam knows that no medic will be able to treat her for what Tyrian did to her. But Kassius hears Ilia trying to say something to him.

“I – I’m sorry.” She tells him tearfully, still sad for what happened to his team. Kassius shakes his head as he looks down at her.

“Forget about that, that means nothing. Just hold on.” He pleads, holding her hand tight, the blood still pouring from her wounds. Ilia looks at Blake with sad eyes and she smiles at her kindly.

“You were right...I should’ve gone with you.” She weakly says to her. “We can’t do things on our own anymore.” Ilia smiles as she looks at Blake with her body still bleeding out. Blake smiles back to her old best friend.

“Never could.” Blake says with a smile to make her feel happy as she has her final moments. Ilia then looks up at Kassius who holds her, trying to keep her alive, and then she says something.

“I – I had it, Kassius...” She says to him weakly. “I had my moment...now...it’s alright to go.” Ilia tells him with a smile, holding onto his hand gently with a smile on her face. Kassius sighs as he looks down at the floor.

“You did – Ilia...” He agrees with a smile. “Why am I cursed with this? Watching my friends die?” Kassius questions to himself, almost self-hatred in him as he holds her, a tear falling from his eye.

“Friend?” She asks with disbelief, even after what happened. Kassius smiles when he looks at her.

“Yeah...friends.” He assures her, giving her that before her end. She smiles when she looks at him.

“Thank you Kassius...” She weakly says. Kassius feels her hand becoming looser on his hand and then he watches as she gives her last breath, eyes becoming weak and her head turning slightly on his knee. Her eyes close and her heart stops beating, the wounds she suffered from Tyrian were too much for her to handle.

And now she has passed on.

Kassius looks down at her and he closes his eyes. Blake wipes a tear from her eye and walks away for a moment. When Kassius opens his eyes, they have turned red, and Hyde speaks through him. But with no anger whatsoever. “Of all the gods that watch over us...I hope you find the kindest.” Hyde says kindly to the body of Ilia as her soul leaves her body. A bright flash of light bursts from her body and floats gently into the sky, her aura leaving her body and returning to the Infinite and the Unbound.

Ilia is at peace.

 

**Fury**

The huge metal doors burst down and Fury is the first to storm inside with his Axes in his hands. Salem looks around with the other Knights walking with her. Along with them are Hazel, Neo and Watts. Tyrian however is running to return to his Queen’s Side, although he has failed her in killing Ruby as well. Death walks into the room, it does not look like the same room of which the Relic is being held, it is a different Chamber. But when Fury enters, his orange eyes widen with amazement.

He releases his burning Axes when he sees the ocean of golden coins and treasures before him.

His Trove that he has been longing to find has finally been discovered again. They all let him have this moment of reunification with the only thing he ever had left. He collapses to his knees when he looks at the shiny golden coins that lay before him. Coins that predate the current currency, one worth trillions of Lien in comparison. “My...My trove.” Fury stammers with happiness when he looks at it.

Fury approaches the coins and extinguishes the flames in his hands so then they are but pumice and magma, pushing his hands and scooping the coins into his hands. A smile of happiness is on his face...

...until...

The coins evaporate to ashes that are blown away in the wind inside the Chamber. His eyes widen with shock as he watches the golden coins completely disintegrating away in his palms. Fury tries to pick up more of them desperately, but whenever he actually touches the coins they all turn to ash in the exact same way. “No...No!” He wails with horror, the only thing he ever had in his life to keep him going.

Has been taken from him.

Every coin in the chamber begins to turn to ash inside, some sort of curse binds them so then he could never pick them up ever again. Death, Fear and Loss look at him and they are actually sad for his situation that he is in.

But then...

They see the flames reigniting across his body, burning hotter than ever before.

Fury now has nothing.

And that means he has nothing to lose.

Fury looks up slowly with the most rage-induced expression ever seen on him before as the fire burns hotter and hotter and he grits his jagged molten teeth together, forming his burning axes in his hands as he stares at his empire of dirt.

Death, Fear and Loss ready their weapons.

Because this rage is one that even he cannot control.

One that he will see anything as an enemy.

Fury bellows with indescribable rage, his eyes igniting with flames, his wings folding out from his back and lava leaks from his bones.


	49. Protect the Relic

**Ortega**

The Admiral of the Acolytes of Lien stands at the bridge, explosions still going off around their vessel as they battle the White Fang’s Vessel in the sky. They have taken some hits, but the White Fang ship has got nothing on what the Drift of Wandering Star carries, for it is a Dreadnaught-Class Frigate, fully capable to level an entire city if need be. He grips onto the side as the ship shudders when a shell hits it and he stumbles. Fire and smoke bleed from the White Fang ship, it is tipping down, beginning to fall to its end. Darren turns to his men on the ship that are controlling the ship and its armaments. “Fire all!” He orders.

He turns to his communication node and he brings up a contact name. His name is Merlot, and he is trying to contact him. “Merlot! Why the hell is your prototype helping them?” Ortega roars with rage at the empty screen, Merlot is not answering his call. But he can definitely hear him.

He is choosing to not answer.

“Merlot!” Ortega bellows again, and still no response. He grits his teeth and then punches the screen with rage, staggering back from the cracked screen of which the sparks fly from. The operatives on the ship turn their heads at the furious man as he stands with fists clenched.

Ortega stares at them all and he snarls. “What are you swine looking at? Destroy that damn ship!” He bellows, scaring them into submission, and they prepare to fire the full force of their assault batteries. The cannons fold out from the hull and point towards the brave vessel that risked itself to help keep its guns off their forces.

The cannons all open fire at once, launching hundreds of explosive dust shells into its hull. The explosions shred the armour off the body of the ship, fire spills from the ship and it groans. The engines explode as the cores begin to overload to the point of detonation, chunks of the ship plummeting down into the mountains of the island below. They crash down with force, tearing up the ground into little pieces where they land. Smoke polluting the sky upon impact.

The White Fang Captain holds on and he watches as the ship begins to fall. “It’s been an honour serving this cause!” The Captain tells them all, he then activates his comm to the ground forces.

“This is Fang One...taken fatal damage, we’re going down. Good luck down there. Fang One...out.”

**Ruby**

Ruby sets her eyes on Fang One as it falls from the sky and crashes down into the mountains, exploding in a bright flash of fire that engulfs the sky. She sighs, closing her eyes sadly at their brave sacrifice.

Ruby looks down at the body of Ilia that Blake has fallen to her knees beside. She has tears in her eyes as well, a very close friends of hers when she was once part of the White Fang, has just been taken from her by a monster. A monster that has completely vanished, and Ruby knows that he was the one that murdered her. The blade wounds have become something that she recognises almost instantaneously as she stares down at them. The clean stab wounds, the ferocity of them as well. Glynda walks over and she holds a tarp that she found, gently covering her body with it so then she may be able to rest. She holds her crop in her hand and with her other; she places it on Blake’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Miss Belladonna.” Glynda says to her with a kind smile.

Ruby clenches her hand into a fist when she thinks of the laughs of that damned Scorpion Faunus that murdered her. Roman appears in her eye and he walks around, looking down at her body that lays there. He crosses his arms and he smiles at her, and then he shakes his head sadly at her body. “Such a shame, never got to meet her. What kind of Faunus was she I wonder?” Roman wonders as he walks around and leaves her view. Blake wipes a tear from her eye and she stands back up and walks over to Sun’s open arms and she embraces with him. Sun caresses the back of her black haired head with his hand, kissing the top of her head affectionately. Sun looks over at Ruby and he smiles, nodding to her.

Ruby looks at Penny, they already have seen each other again, and Ruby is still amazed to see her alive. Not exactly in one piece with the hole done to her body, but still alive and for whatever reason – herself. _Merlot is not stupid, the man was able to give her a consciousness, then why did he not get rid of her own memories?_

Finally reunited, but Ruby is the first to know that they are not finished. They have to stop Salem from activating that Relic before it is too late. She activates Crescent Rose, the blade folds outwards and sharpens with a gleam across the scythe. She looks at Adam and he is far too injured to be of any help in there. “Adam?” Ruby speaks, he looks in the direction of which he heard her, his hand on one of his wounds he suffered from Tyrian. “Take her body to the ships, tell everyone to get ready. We will go in, can’t risk a tonne of soldiers going inside there.” Ruby explains as she walks past them and towards the entrance.

The doors are wide open and Weiss walks over to her, holding onto her shoulder, even pulling her back for a moment. “Ruby, you need to go with them. You need to recover, we can handle this.” Weiss assures, amazed by how determined Ruby is to finish this. They could end this, Salem is in there. But so are the Knights, including one berserk Axzura Vex right now. Ruby looks at Weiss and she shakes her head.

“No, I will not stand by. And I have a promise to keep.” Ruby explains, taking the first steps towards it but Weiss stands in front of her.

“Will you just wait a second, please?” She begs, pressing her hand against her shoulder to keep her from going inside, but Ruby keeps on going.

“I have to go, Weiss.” Ruby says, even sounding quite cold as well. Weiss suddenly wraps her arms around Ruby, so affectionately that it actually surprises Ruby from how kind her hug is. How warm she is being towards her, she was never like that before. A tear sheds from Weiss’ closed eyes as she holds her friend close.

Her best friend.

She looks at Ruby when she releases her. “I know...but you don’t have to do it alone.” Weiss says to her, and Ruby looks away and takes a couple steps back. She has never ever seen Weiss cry like that before, never over her either. Weiss wipes the tear from her cheek and she just smiles kindly to her, and Ruby looks around at all those that came here to save her life. But they all know that they cannot leave until Salem has been stopped.

And that means going in there.

Glynda steps forward with her proposition. “We cannot all go in there; the Acolytes and the Grimm would follow and trap us inside. We would all die that way.” Glynda begins. She looks to the teachers of the group and other members. “I will lead a small team of people to hold the entrance.” Glynda volunteers, speaking to Ruby as if she is her leader, a feeling of which that Ruby has never felt before.

Oobleck and Port step forward with their weapons at the ready. “We will remain here.” Port states. Taiyang, Raven and Winter step forth as well, as they are ready as well, the Architect does as well with his weapon ready. Penny shyly steps forward as well to hold the outside as well, but the Architect gently pats her on the back in order to help her feel better. With Adam taking Ilia’s body back home, that is the group that will remain outside to keep the enemies from following.

“Okay then.” Glynda says, looking down at Zwei as he sits down beside her and she smiles at the little dog. “Then that is what we shall do, the rest of you will go inside and stop them from using the Relics.” Glynda explains.

Team R.W.B.Y, Team J.N.R, Team C.F.V.Y, Sun, Neptune, Oscar, Kassius, Cinder, Qrow and Kragen will be going inside to face the Knights of Grimm and Salem, and her Inner Circle. In the darkness of the caverns that have remained uncharted for countless years. But this is it, the fight to stop her.

Ruby nods, looking at the people who will be joining her in this fight. “Good luck to you.” Ruby says to her, and she walks towards the open doors, but Glynda calls out to her before she goes.

“Ruby!” She calls, Ruby stops and turns to look at her. She smiles as she looks at Ruby. “It’s good to see you again.” Glynda tells her, almost like it was difficult for her to say something as nice as that. She may want to know why she has lost her eye, but...that is a tale for another time. Not right now.

Ruby smiles back to Goodwitch as her team stand with her once more. “It’s good to see you too, Professor.” Ruby says to her, walking first into the dark unknown with her team and the others who follow her. Glynda turns with her crop in hand, Port standing beside her as he stares at the countless Grimm that forms before them.

“You do know that we won’t be able to hold the Grimm off indefinitely, right?” Port asks her.

“I know...and that is why I have faith in them. They can stop her, and if they stop Salem, we stop the Grimm.” Glynda explains, extending her crop with one swift flick of her wrist. Taiyang clenches his hands into fists and he raises them up, Raven draws her Odachi and she stands ready by his side. The Architect activates his rifle into Sword form and he spins the sword through his fingers as he waits for the coming battle.

The Architect steps towards the doors and he pulls them both shut, giving them more of a chance as well.

The doors shut, leaving them in the shadows, Ruby looks back and then forward again at the long passage.

Ruby walks into the dark passageways of the Chambers, huge statues inside with their stone swords pressed into the ground as she walks. Yang stands extremely close to her sister, just wanting to keep her safe at all costs. Weiss and Blake stand close to her as well, and Blake looks at Ruby when they walk through the darkness. “Ruby?” She says, getting her attention. Ruby looks at Blake who is acting as timid as she always has been, but it is more because she is able to see one of her closest friends again. “I – I’m so sorry.” She says sadly, clearly referring to the suffering that Ruby has had to go through.

“Don’t be.” Ruby says to her. “There was nothing you could have done to stop Death from taking me.” She explains, walking onwards, she does not even seem to be thinking about that. Her eye is just focused on finding Salem and defeating her.

“I just wish...we could have found you sooner.” Weiss says, still with guilt across her. Ruby looks at her team but she shakes her head.

“It’s okay, guys...really.” Ruby explains with a smile as she walks. But then they all hug her at once, unable to resist the urge, and Ruby buries her head into them with a smile, feeling so at home with them as she sits in their grasp. Cinder actually feels happy for what she did for once, she used to think that what she was doing was making her happy, but only now does she truly understand what it is. Something that was lost in her for a long time, Kassius looks at her and he walks over to her right shoulder to speak to her.

“So why’d you do it?” Kassius asks her, and she looks at him.

“Huh?” Cinder responds, almost with shock when she sees Kassius beside her.

“Save Ruby? What changed?” Kassius asks her curiously, and Cinder sighs as she looks down at the floor. She scratches the back of her neck as well when she walks with him in the darkness.

“Well...after I killed Pyrrha Nikos...I...I thought that I would feel some – satisfaction. The same with the Fall Maiden back at Beacon, but I felt nothing when I did it...only – guilt.” Cinder explains, running her fingers through her black hair. She does not even notice that Jaune is eavesdropping on what she is saying as he walks with Ren and Nora, holding Crocea Mors tight. “I couldn’t let Tyrian hurt her anymore...” Cinder explains.

Kassius nods and he keeps walking. “And – a stupid twin brother of mine managed to convince me to change.” Cinder says with a smile on her face, and Kassius smiles back.

Jaune keeps looking forward, and Ren looks at him. He can see the anger in his face, despite Pyrrha being resurrected; he still cannot shrug off the year of agony he faced with Pyrrha’s demise. Ren bumps his elbow into Jaune’ shoulder to get his attention when they are walking, Jaune looks at him afterwards. “You alright?” Ren asks him, and Jaune sighs, looking on again.

“Yeah. Perfectly fine.” Jaune lies, and Ren looks at Nora when Jaune walks ahead of them, catching up to Team R.W.B.Y. Kragen decides to catch up to them and his eyes glow brighter with his gift of Silver Eyes, and Ruby gasps with shock, considering that this is in fact the first time that she has actually met Kragen Nox.

“Um...Who’s that?” Ruby asks curiously. Yang laughs a little, since Ruby is extremely out of the loop after the adventures that they had in searching for her little sister.

“Oh yeah, that is Kragen Nox. We met him and his robot friend the Architect because they said they could help find you.” Yang states and Ruby’s eyes widen when she remembers something on her first few days when she was held captive by Tyrian and Salem.

“You’re Kragen Nox?” She gasps and Blake looks at her with a confused expression of how she could even know of his name.

“You’ve heard of him?” Blake asks.

“Yeah, I was told by Pyrrha in one of my nightmares that we needed to find him.” Ruby states, and Kragen’s eyes widen, and he stops in his tracks and turns to her. His eyes stop glowing just so then he does not blind her with the brightness of his eyes. There is a hint of concern in his silver eyes, and Ruby looks at him with a confused expression.

“You saw her in a vision?” Kragen asks her, stopping her where she walks. The others walk past them as they keep looking around. Velvet stops by Ruby and she listens to what they are talking about, still holding her precious box close. Qrow stands there as well with his sword rested on his shoulder.

“Yeah, early on when I was in their cell.” Ruby answers truthfully, and she thinks back to what Pyrrha told her. About the Charred Forest in her nightmares. “We were in the Charred Forest; I always end up there in my nightmares. And she said that the place was not a nightmare, that it is an actual place that she was bound to, same as the Knights of Grimm.” Ruby paraphrases, still able to visualise the charcoal wooden trees where they stood and the sounds of death and suffering surrounding them. Oscar stops as well and he approaches the group as well, since he too has seen this place.

“I saw that place as well.” Oscar tells them, crossing his arms, and Kragen looks at him. Ruby’s eyes widen when he says that, which solidifies Pyrrha’s statement to her, about the Charred Forest and its significance. “When that being – Time – took me away and sent me to Arkhonex, I started off there. But then it became the Shivering Dominion, ice and snow covered the forest but it was still all charred.” Oscar explains, and Kragen clutches onto his staff tight when he thinks of the complications that could arise from such information.

“So what does that mean?” Velvet asks, innocently out of the loop on all of this information. Her long brown bunny ears curve down shyly as she speaks to them, and they look at her.

“The Shivering Dominion...I’ve heard stories about it. Allegedly it is a point in time where time ends, stopped in a single moment forever. Nobody would ever realise, unless they are dead and become unbound by it. In that realm – only the fallen live.” Kragen explains as he walks around with his staff in his hand.

“Could the Relics trigger that?” Qrow questions, and Kragen looks at him.

“Possibly, they are artefacts from a time before Arkhonex, even our greatest scientist could not pin their origin or their actual purpose. Only that they have the power to change the world as we know it.” Kragen explains, and that sends shivers across their bodies. A faint explosion inside the chambers that reverberates through the caverns snaps them out of this conversation that they were having about the Charred Forest.

“Well, on that note let’s keep moving.” Qrow ushers, walking forward and spinning his sword through his fingers. Ruby touches the back of her neck nervously, realising how big this could be. They all know that it will not end here, even if they do stop Salem. The Knights of Grimm are infinite, the will not be able to end their story here. They need to understand more about them if they are going to attempt to bring them closure.

Ruby follows them, and Velvet walks with her, looking at the younger girl who looks so much colder now than she ever used to be. It hurts to see her so focused unlike her bouncy and lovable self she used to be. Her large round bown eyes focus onto Ruby’s sombre looking silver eye, and the patch that covers the one that was taken from Death. “Ruby?” Velvet gently says and she gets the young girl’s attention. Another change in her personality is that she does not turn fast with excitement like she usually did. Now it is just a normal turn of the head and look at her eyes.

“Yeah?” Ruby responds, less joyous than her old self as well. Velvet has so many questions, what are they facing? Who are the Four Knights of Grimm? What happened to her? Who is Salem?

But only one comes to mind that she actually asks her, because she only wants the best for Ruby and for her to be happy. That is why she came to save her, because she was always good to her unlike some other people at Beacon. The rest of Team C.F.V.Y came because they too care deeply for Ruby as she is one of their close friends as well. “If you don’t mind me asking...what happened to your eye?” Velvet gently asks her, her voice soft and pleasant. Ruby looks down at the floor whilst she walks and she touches the bandage patch on her eye and she pulls her hand away, at times she forgets she even lost her eye. She has become so used to seeing through one eye that she is beginning to forget what it was like to see any other way. “If it is too personal I –” Velvet states as she tries to retract her question, but Ruby shakes her head.

“No, it’s okay. You all deserve to know.” She says. Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi wait up for them so then they can hear what she wants to tell them. They are also her friends as well, Coco takes off her sunglasses to give the young girl her full attention.

“We were there when Mistral fell – we tried to get as many civilians to safety but many of them were killed by the Knights. They set up an ambush and destroyed the entire city, we held them off for a while...but...” Ruby explains, seeing the events flashing before her eyes over and over again. The way Death swooped towards them in his Nevermore Form and threw the Fatal Feathers from his black wings, the flames that Fury unleashed onto the city. The nightmares that Fear spread like a plague across hundreds of people, and the torment that Loss rained down as she fought them. Scarlet David and Sage...they never made it out of Mistral, they were murdered right in front of her. Sage by Lionheart and Scarlet David by Death when he landed behind him and skewered him with Ferrum Arctus.

A horrific sight to see.

Ruby breathes out as she relives the horrors in her mind. “Scarlet and Sage got killed in the battle.” Ruby tells them, and Velvet gasps with horror, her eyes flitting over to Sun as he walks with Blake, holding her hand. He still hides his pain of losing two of his close friends like that, in one battle as well. One through betrayal, literally by getting shot in the back, and the other from getting stabbed in the back by Death. Neptune is hurt as well, still trying to get over the loss of them, but they have hidden their pains for their friends and loved ones. And to focus on getting Ruby back. Velvet feels pity for Sun, it must be horrible to lose two of your teammates like that.

Kassius would know, he lost his whole team.

Velvet looks back to Ruby as she walks with them. “Near the end of the battle, we started to retreat, but Jaune and I were thrown through a wall by Death and I was dazed. I couldn’t move, the shock of everything that happened was rushing over me. Both of us were injured.” Ruby explains, feeling goosebumps on her arms when she remembers the sight of Death stood there. Like a nightmare, a body made of shadows and eyes of red light, forming a bow in his hand from glass and launching an arrow that took out her eye. Nearly killing her, she never felt the pain when it happened, just a tugging sensation as her eye was pulverised from the impact of the arrowhead. Team C.F.V.Y notice her trepidation when she speaks, and Velvet gently puts her hand on the young girl’s shoulder caringly with a smile to calm her. Ruby continues to tell them about what happened that night. “Death was there; he made a bow in his hands and then shot an arrow at me. I tried to dash out of the way by using my Semblance, but the arrow still hit my eye.” She explains, her hand touches the bandage on her eye where she lost it.

The pain has gone away now, but she still remembers the unrelenting agony that she suffered from that arrow, the amount of blood that poured from her socket, just before passing out. Velvet gasps with horror from what a horrific thing that was, and Yatsuhashi grits his teeth and growls with anger after hearing such a terrible tale of how she lost her eye. He clenches his hand into a fist as he growls. “How can such evil exist in this world and not be punished?” Yatsuhashi questions with rage, but Ruby closes her eye and tells him what she has learned.

“Evil will never go unpunished; it just takes some time before the bad people fall...no matter how many good die along the way.” Ruby states.

Velvet immediately wraps her arms around Ruby and holds her tight and Coco smiles. “I’m so sorry, Ruby.” Velvet apologises with a tearful voice as she holds her close. Coco smiles as she puts her sunglasses back over her eyes, even in the dark caverns.

“We’ll get some payback for this, don’t you worry.” Coco promises as she holds her handbag in one hand.

After Velvet releases Ruby, the young girl steps back and looks at Team C.F.V.Y and she smiles at them happily. “Don’t be sorry...it’s good to see you all again.” Ruby says sweetly and Fox smiles and he nods to her, still never saying a word. And Ruby respects that, she smiles and nods back, and then Coco pats her shoulder and they keep walking on to catch up the rest of their team.

The group walk towards a pair of paths that diverge away from one another. One that goes off to the left and the other goes to the right. One of these paths is where an enraged Axzura Vex awaits them; they feel another quake from the explosions detonating nearby. “What the hell’s happening down there?” Jaune says, looking around at the dust that falls from the ceiling and the walls from the quakes.

“Maybe it’s the Drift of Wandering Star?” Blake guesses when she turns to Jaune, shrugging her shoulders at her suggestion. Another rumble reverberates through the stone catacombs and Jaune sighs, scratching the back of his head.

“Let’s hope so.” He says.

Yang places her hand on her shoulder and she looks at the two paths. “Right or Left?” Yang wonders when she looks at the two paths.

Ren walks forward and he crouches down, looking at something that he spotted on the ground. There are marks on the stone, different kinds, one going down each pathway. One of them looks like those of tyre tracks that are heading down the one going right, and the other one looks like a collection of footsteps that go right. Ren notices the scorch marks grazed across the stone and around the prints of one pair of footsteps. He turns and looks at Qrow who stands behind him. “Looks like Salem and the Knights brought some Mercenaries with them in a vehicle and they checked out that way.” Ren explains as he points down the left path.

“Is there a chance they could have found it and that she didn’t?” Qrow wonders, and Kragen sighs.

“It is possible that Fury might have lead them that way.” Kragen points out as he looks at that direction.

“Why’s that?” Weiss asks.

“His Trove...” Ruby remembers, from the conversation that she had with Loss when Fury actually protected her from the pincers of Tyrian Callows that one time. About how he could never kill children in his human form, and that the only thing that kept him sane after he lost everything was his Treasure Trove. They all look at Ruby, and Kragen nods his head when he looks at her.

“When we came here to find Axzura all those years ago...he hid his Treasure Trove here, we were tasked to recover the gold but the concentration of Grimm and the lack of a ship made it impossible.” Kragen explains, and Ruby’s reaction is priceless, her eye widens and she slowly turns and looks at Kragen with confusion. Team C.F.V.Y also look at Kragen in the exact same way, bewildered from what he just said, since they can tell that all of this happened thousands of years ago.

And Coco is the first to ask the question on their minds. “Eh?” Coco asks him as she lowers her sunglasses down with a raised eyebrow. Kragen looks at them, and he quickly catches onto their confusion.

“I am an Arkhoni; I was tasked with protecting the Relics and keeping the Silver Eyed Warriors alive and fully trained in their capabilities.” Kragen explains to them of how he has lived this long. They all seem pretty stunned by it and Ruby leans over to Sun’s ear as she speaks to him.

“How much have I missed?” Ruby asks curiously. Sun chuckles and he pats her shoulder with a smile.

“A lot, we’ll fill you in when we finish this.” Sun promises as he spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers.

“So I guess that you’re saying that we should go – left?” Nora asks him as she holds both hands towards the left pathway where the car was driving off to.

“That would be the correct assumption.” Kragen nods as he walks towards them and Nora throws her fist up happily to realise that she guessed right. Blake keeps her eyes on the path that heads down there, and she narrows her eyes. She knows that the monster that murdered her parents is just down there, and it does frighten her. But fills her with anger as well, until she feels Sun’s hand on hers and he smiles. She smiles back and she walks with him with the others down the path to the left.

Oscar walks up to Ruby as they make their way down the path and he looks at her, and she looks at him with a kind smile. “Hey.” Oscar shyly says to her with a smile as they walk. The happiness he feels to see her alive is unfathomable for him, he was terrified that they would find her dead from Tyrian’s anger. And that was nearly the case if it weren’t for Adam and Ilia saving her life, a shame that Ilia lost her life during that battle.

Ruby gives a tiny adorable smile as she looks at him. “Hey.” She responds. She looks forward again as she walks and there is a little awkward silence between the two of them but he looks at her face again.

“Her scars have healed up nicely since we last saw her, Oscar.” Ozpin’s voice announces, the first time he has actually heard his voice in quite a long time. Oscar nearly jumps from hearing his voice, but he takes that comment as an opportunity to talk to her again, since he cares very deeply for her.

“You look better.” Oscar says to her and she looks at him.

“Huh?” She responds.

“Your scars, they’ve healed up better than when I last saw you.” Oscar says to her and she touches the scars that are past her eye where the patch does not cover up. She can feel the marks with her finger and she then looks at him again. “You look healthier.” He says with a smile and she smiles back, her heart pounding nervously.

“Thank you, Oscar.” Ruby replies and she looks down at the floor. She then looks back at him and then she thinks of something to ask him.

“What happened to you? Where did you end up?” Ruby asks, remembering back when they attempted to escape the Sanctum. Ruby does not even realise at first that stood behind them and walking with them is Roman Torchwick, smirking as he listens to their conversation. Oscar looks at her large silver eye and then he remembers back to what Hazel did for him, how he went out of his way to save him from his fate.

“I was being chased by the Lord of the Wood, and when I tried to get away, Hazel grabbed me and kept me hidden from the Leshen.” Oscar explains, and Ruby’s eyes widen with disbelief. She never realised that Hazel actually was the one that saved his life that time. “He took me to a portal, and he sent me away. The portal took me to your sister.” Oscar explains, and it amazes her.

She looks at Yang as she walks with Kassius who has his swords still in his hands. “What about you? What happened?” Oscar asks her, and Ruby sighs as she presses her palm against the side of her head as she remembers what Fear did.

“Fear...I nearly made it to one of those Portals...but...Fear showed up and he put a hallucination in my head.” Ruby explains that annoys her at how close she was to being free from that place.

“What kind of Hallucination?” Oscar asks her.

Roman stands in between them with a big grin on his face. “One like me, boyo!” He laughs, prancing around before them as he keeps up with them. And Ruby just ignores him when she tells him the truth.

“He bound the soul of one of my enemies to me – heard of Roman Torchwick?” Ruby asks him, looking at the boy. Roman giggles as he watches the two of them talk.

“Ooh! Of course he remembers this charming face! The greatest thief of all time!” Roman cheers to himself as he walks with Ruby. Roman puts his spectral arm around Ruby’s shoulders and holds his other hand high in the air with his hat in his hand. Oscar thinks back to picture his face and then he remembers.

“Isn’t he that crappy thief who got swallowed by a Griffin?” Oscar asks with a raised eyebrow. Torchwick’s expression swiftly switches from happy and self-absorbed to shocked and dismayed from how Oscar described him.

“What?” He screams with disbelief. “How dare you!”

Ruby giggles and Yang looks back, seeing Ruby with a big smile on her face from what Oscar said. She might not know what Oscar said of why she is laughing so adorably to him, but all it brings Yang is a warm heart. Kassius looks back and stands beside her, seeing her so happy as well. He looks at Yang who has a tear in her eye, and he wipes from her cheek with his thumb. She looks at Kassius and she smiles at him. “She is one tough egg, to still be able to have a smile after what she endured.” Kassius says, and Yang looks at the happiness on her face.

“I still can’t believe I have her back.” Yang gasps with happiness.

Kassius holds her hand and looks close in her eyes. “And she won’t be going anywhere.” He promises, she smiles and kisses him on the lips.

Ruby keeps on giggling and Oscar laughs as well at his comment and Torchwick holds Melodic Cudgel in both hands, bending it forcefully with anger at his comment. He looks at Ruby as she giggles at he points at her. “Stop it! It’s not funny!” Roman demands, but she just laughs even harder and he groans, rolling his eyes as he walks around the two of them.

“He really was!” She giggles. Roman sighs and he looks at the two of them and then he shakes his head when he sees the bond that they have formed.

“Damn the sexual tension between you two is insane.” Roman says, and Ruby does not even hear his comment that would make her recoil. Or maybe she did and she knows that, but he does not really seem to notice. Embarrassed from his comment, he disappears from her eyes again, and she only sees Oscar. She wipes a tear from her eye so then she can see again and she looks at him with a smile.

“I missed you, Ruby.” Oscar says to her, and she smiles.

“I missed you too.” She says. They look longingly into each other’s eyes and then they embrace one another, hugging each other tight and Kassius looks back at the others who are slowing down for them to catch up.

“Alright, love-birds!” Kassius calls to them and they both look at Kassius with wide eyes.

“Oh no! We’re not together-together!” They both say at the same time and Nora smirks.

“They stole my line.” Nora gasps, pressing her hand on her hip.

“Yeah...sure you’re not.” Kassius chuckles as he walks on with Yang and the two shy ones follow the rest of them.

Kragen approaches something that makes him stop. The doors that were once closed have been blown open. He looks at the massive room that is inside, and it is truly gigantic. Massive lights activate at different points in the dark chamber, huge spotlights pointed at different points. There are buildings inside that must hold countless treasures. They step inside and they gaze at the many buildings, some the size of warehouses. Water drips from the stalactites on the ceiling of the structure. “Why’s it so warm in here?” Nora asks, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“It’s because we are really close to the centre of the volcanic core.” Kragen answers.

“Volcanic Core?” Jaune gasps, wide eyed from what he just told them. Kragen turns and looks at them all.

“You do know why this place is called the Volcanic Chain Isles, don’t you?” He asks them. It takes them a moment to figure it out. “It’s in the name, a network of Volcanoes, and this chamber must be right next to or on top of the Volcanic Core of one them.” He explains, looking around the area. Neptune walks along and his foot bumps into a golden trinket on the ground. He gasps with amazement, picking it up and looking at it.

This golden prize does not however turn to dust like it did for Fury.

He looks at it and it is so pristine that he can see his own reflection in the goblet. He turns his head and looks at Qrow where he walks. “Hey, Qrow!” Neptune calls.

“Hmm?” Qrow responds, looking at the blue haired Huntsman.

“How much Lien do you think this is worth?” Neptune asks him as he holds the goblet up. Qrow looks at it and he calculates the probable amount in his head.

“A million, maybe?” Qrow guesses and Neptune’s eyes widen with amazement when he looks at the goblet. He gasps and holds it tight. They keep on looking around and Velvet moves forward, climbing up the rocks to get to the top and she looks around the huge chamber to find the Acolytes of Lien that drove in here. The place is massive, amazing that the Arkhoni managed to hide all of this inside of a mountain.

“Can you see any of them?” Coco asks her.

“Nothing! This place is massive.” She responds, sliding down the pillar and landing back beside them. Kragen looks around at the place with his staff in hand and he walks around the area with Ruby and Oscar following him. Ruby looks at Kragen as he stands there.

“Is this the right place?” Ruby asks. His eyes set on something particular, a tall stone statue at the very end of the Chamber with something in its hand.

The Relic of Choice.

It is not concealed, the glow that lights the room is emanating from that Relic. It is a simple stone, but it is unbelievably powerful. Kragen points the tip of his staff at the Relic in the hand of the tall statue. “Yes, because that is the Relic of Choice.” Kragen tells them when he sets his eyes on it. Ruby gasps when she spots it, and she also realises that they have actually managed to get here before Salem and the others did.

They are ready to get it.

Until they hear Sun.

“Hey guys! Check this thing out!” Sun calls, they all turn and walk over to what he has found. He and Blake and stood around something that has been toppled over for a long time. A metal statue that has a sword by its hand and rust has spread across parts of the black metal. The metal glistens in the light and Sun crawls across the body. “This thing has been dead for a long time.” Sun examines the body, holes in it and then he looks at the head.

Kragen turns and his eyes widen when he sees the body. The metal head has been blown open and underneath is what looks to be a human skull.

The metal is Isomacium.

“What the hell happened to you?” Sun asks its corpse.

Kragen gasps when he realises. “Sun!” Kragen yells.

“What?” Sun replies.

Suddenly glowing red energy pulsates inside the skeleton and the Isomacium, the eye sockets and jaws are filled with red energy. The body begins to move erratically and the Isomacium Knight lets out a bone chilling roar as it sits up. Sun screams and he jumps away from the Knight as it stands back up. He draws its sword from the floor and it stands tall, slashing it at where Sun was stood. The blade scrapes across the floor and sparks are kicked up everywhere. Sun staggers back and Blake steps backwards with him with Gambol Shroud in her hands, both ends of it with her eyes wide as the corpse rises up. “It’s a Guardian Knight!” Kragen yells, spinning his staff through his fingers and his eyes glow bright when he passes his energy into the Isomacium in his staff. He spins it through his fingers and he stands ready to fight the Knight.

The Knight stumbles around, it is confused at first, but then it picks up a second sword and it stomps towards them. “Relinquo hice locus!” The Guardian Knight roars in its Ancient Tongue, it swings the swords towards them and Kragen holds his staff high. When the blades impact the staff, a deafening bang echoes from the impact and throws them back from the shockwave. Kragen stands his ground but the Guardian Knight sprints at him, regaining its strength and it jumps in the air and spins round, slashing the two blades across his strong aura. He grunts and the Guardian Knight kicks him in the side, making him grunt from the impact.

Kragen bounces and rolls across the floor, groaning with pain. The Guardian Knight snarls as he stands its ground and slides the blades across the room as it searches for the other intruders. Blake fires her pistol against the head of the Guardian Knight, but the bullet deflects off the Isomacium and it stares at her. Sun runs to her with Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hands. “Come on!” He yells and the Knight runs at them and stabs down at where they were stood. The others begin to take cover from the Guardian Knight, for they cannot stop something like this.

The armour is near indestructible.

Neptune looks at Weiss and then he looks at the Guardian Knight as it searches for him. “Weiss! Do you think you can freeze him in place so he can’t attack us?” Neptune asks her.

“Yeah, but as soon as I step out he’ll see me!” Weiss argues as she stands behind the pillar.

“I’ll distract him then.” Neptune suggests.

“Distract?” Weiss repeats with disbelief.

Neptune runs out from the pillar and he stretches his arms outwards. “Look at me! I’m a target!” Neptune yells, and the Guardian Knight stares straight at him, the glowing red eyes in the skull staring into his blue ones. The Guardian Knight draws what appears to be a massive Bow, since the Knight stands at around ten feet high and it draws the bow back and launches an arrow at him. Neptune yelps and he runs towards the Knight. The Guardian Knight throws the Bow onto the floor and kicks its swords back in the air and catches them. It holds them both high over its head.

“Protect the Relic!” The Guardian Knight barks as it slams the two sword blades down at where Neptune runs. They just miss him and he runs past the Knight and jumps onto the roof of a large building. He activates his Rifle and shoots it at the Guardian Knight, but the electrical shells just bounce off the armour and it seems to only anger the Knight. The Guardian Knight watches him and then Weiss forms a glyph that sends ice blasting towards it.

The ice freezes around the armour and keeps it stuck in place. The Guardian Knight roars in anger where it stands there and attempts to free itself. The rumbling is getting worse and worse, and worse still, the Acolytes of Lien heard the commotion and they have arrived. Their truck drifts to a stop before them and they open fire at them. Qrow deflects the bullets with his sword to protect his daughter and they get behind cover. The Guardian Knight snarls and starts to force itself from the ice, making it crack and weaken. Kragen retreats from the mercenaries and he takes cover.

Ruby stands there and her eye widens with disbelief when she sees something happening with the Relic. Something is beginning to change as it starts to flicker brighter and brighter. Until there is a powerful flash, which sends a pulse of energy across the whole island.

 

**Penny**

Penny launches her swords into the chest of a Beowulf that lunges at her, the blades lodge into the fur and then she rips it into tiny pieces. They are all defending the entrance as best as they can from the Grimm, however not many are even coming for them. They are too busy attacking the other soldiers in the area.

The pulse bursts from the structure and rises across the entire area. Glynda looks around and then she sees the Grimm stopping in their tracks. They growl and their eyes glow bright red and they slowly turn their heads in the direction of where they are defending. Even the huge Giganotosaurus that attacked turns its head as well, growling with anger, the Krastax that guard the sea and all the sea monsters are as well, snarling as they turn to defend the Relic.

Oobleck sees them all charging towards the entrance. “Oh...dear...” Oobleck says.

Even worse, the statues that they passed begin to move. The stone shatters around their bodies and Isomacium metal skin appears underneath as they stagger out from their slumber. They pick their swords up from where they were last left and they snarl in anger, yelling in ancient tongue as they march out. “Protect the Relic!” They all yell, in common tongue as well.

Glynda gasps when she sees the Statues coming to life and attacking. “What?” She gasps.

“Whatever they are doing in there, they better do it fast.” Taiyang says with his fists ready.

 

**Ruby**

“Protect the Relic!” They roar, as other statues break free from their frozen forms. The stone shatters and they shake it from their shoulders as they step out from the darkness. The soldiers turn and they hear the stone shattering.

“Something is happening over there!” One of the soldiers yell, Ruby watches as the Guardian Knights fall from the ceiling, multiple layers of the Chamber have statues everywhere, and they are all Guardian Knights that have fallen and landed before them. One of them holds a Battleaxe in one hand and swings it at one of the soldiers. The Isomacium axe wedges into the chest of a Mercenary and kills him instantly. Blood spills everywhere and Ruby watches as the Knights continue to attack. Ruby turns to her allies and she points at the Relic.

“The Guardian Knights are too strong to stop! We need to get to that Relic!” Ruby tells them.

“It’s defending itself! The Guardian Knights will come for us!” Yang replies as she fires Ember Celica at some of the soldiers when a second car arrives and more soldiers are dropped off.

They start to run from the Guardian Knights as the original one that they found breaks free from the ice and slashes the sword across the head of a soldier, killing him. The soldiers pursue them in their vehicles and they fire the machine guns at them as they jump across the buildings. Ruby jumps high and Cinder flies alongside her, throwing a fireball towards the truck beneath them and the car explodes into burning pieces. The wreckage crash lands and tumbles across the ground with smoke trailing behind it as it tumbles. Cinder keeps on flying with them, until an Isomacium hand grabs her by the throat and throws her into the ground with force.

She rolls out of the way when the Knight goes to spear her with the Halberd it wields, only stabbing the ground. She draws her swords and jumps at the Guardian Knight, slashing her swords across the metal, only sending glowing sparks airborne, doing no damage to it. She then releases her swords and then channels her Fall Maiden Powers as best as she can, since she cannot manipulate the weather when being underground, she can only rely on her flames. She blasts flames into the body of the Guardian Knight and it staggers backwards, roaring in frustration as the flames keep it back. The Guardian Knight stomps towards her and the black metal begins to turn bright orange as it melts down the bones that it is made from, rage in the glowing red eyes.

Jaune jumps at the Guardian Knight and swipes Crocea Mors across the body of the Knight and the skeleton fractures inside when the Isomacium is melted to the point of being breakable. The bones shatter and they bounce across the floor with the metal still stuck to it. He lands next to her and he just looks at her, he still hates her for what she did. But they need to be allies, and that is why he helped her.

Nothing more.

She looks at the body and then at him. “So they can be killed.” She says to him and then he nods and keeps on moving. She takes off again and Weiss bounces across her glyphs to keep up with her. She launches herself towards a Guardian Knight that goes to attack Neptune and he slides under the sword. She rolls past it and jabs the skeleton’s open ribcage. They are not fully covered, only parts of it are that control and carry their spirits. Cinder lands with her and she comes up with an idea. “Weiss!” Cinder yells as she deflects the sword of the Guardian Knight with her own. Weiss looks at Cinder as she slashes the Guardian Knight up its spine to make it stagger back. “What happens to hot glass when cooled fast?” Cinder asks her.

Weiss thinks and she gasps when she remembers when she accidentally did it herself. “It explodes!” She gasps with amazement. Cinder ignites the fire in her hands and unleashes the storm of fire upon the Isomacium that was poured on this Knight and it is pushed back and the metal begins to melt. Weiss waits and waits for the metal to be extremely hot.

She forms the glyphs from her sword and launches the ice chards into the ribcage.

The icy cold temperature does exactly that. The ridged Isomacium shatters into little pieces, blowing pieces of the Knight apart from the fast expanding metal. Cinder releases the flames and she looks at Weiss. “Good idea.” Weiss compliments.

Ruby darts past in her Petal Dash form and Oscar runs with her as he slows down time.

But the more they move, the more aggressive the Guardian Knights become as they sprint across the streets below them.

Until they all fall to the streets from a gap too large for them to jump. They all fall and they crash land onto the ground, rolling across the cracked tarmac. They all stand in a circle when the Acolytes of Lien surround them in their trucks. The soldiers aim their rifles at them as they all stand there. “Drop your weapons, Huntsmen and Huntresses.” The Captain of the Platoon orders as he stands there, pointing a Revolver at them.

Ruby glares at him as he walks towards her. He presses the cold barrel against the side of her head, but she does not release Crescent Rose. “No.” Ruby snarls. The soldier pulls the hammer back to shoot her in the head with a purple dust round.

Another quake occurs and the soldier looks at the wall behind him with shock when the wall explodes with fire bursting out from it. Watts is thrown from the wall with fire burning his clothes and Death is thrown through as well. The others are inside and the place is engulfed with flames due to Axzura’s Rage.

His form has transformed from his normal Fury Form, the Knight Shaped body has turned into a monstrous demonic looking being. The pumice has changed into Obsidian now, making him even stronger with his anger that also has made him become unable to tell friend from foe. His obsidian ribcage is visible and it opens up and he throws his arms back, roaring with rage. His roar is unholy, echoing across the whole Chamber where he stands. The other chamber is burning down from his Berserk Form, his burning Wyvern Wings stretched outwards. Fire burns from his eyes and lava leaks from his mouth as he roars. His jagged obsidian teeth grit together after his snarl and he stares at the soldiers who think he is on their side.

Death rolls across the ground, and they see the others inside who are hurt from Fury. Tyrian is inside with Hazel and Salem, along with Fear and Loss. The soldiers stood there meet a horrific fate as Fury grabs one by his upper torso with his burning hand and burns him to ashes faster than he can scream. He grabs another and throws him into a building so hard he turns into a red splatter on the building, and he spins round and throws his Burning Axe into the chest of a soldier so hard that it pins him to the ground.

Fury turns to their truck and grabs the front of it and throws it towards them. The Captain turns around and his eyes widen in horror when he sees the truck falling towards him. “Look out!” Qrow yells, and Ruby dashes out of the way just as the truck squishes the Captain into a red stain on the road. Fury’s wings stretch out and he bellows with anger as he swings them down and throws himself high in the air and jumps towards them.

“Oh shit!” Sun yells as the Knight of Fury lands before them, the impact creates an earthquake and he seems to be so enraged that he is ripping chunks from his own face from the anger.

“Fury’s gone berserk!” Kragen yells, clearly seeing this form before. The fire can be felt from how aggressive he has become, swinging his axes at them as they form in his hands. Death transforms into his Nevermore Form, Fear into his Bat form and Loss into her Dove Form as they fly away. Whereas Tyrian, Hazel and Watts run with Salem to the Relic. Despite everything, Hazel still seems to be helping Salem to accomplish her goal, his hunt for Revenge is blinding him to the real enemy.

Fury is not even saying words anymore, just making inhumane roars and shrieks as he tries to kill everything in his path. He picks a soldier up and tears him in half, setting the chunks on fire as well from his burning hands. Cinder rolls back from Fury as he slams his axes at her where she stood, hammering down at her over and over again. Ruby shoots Crescent Rose at the Knight of Fury but he does not even feel it, he just turns and gets even angrier and charges straight for her, Axzura Vex is not in there, this is the true form of Fury. He sprints at her and she dashes out of the way, causing him to crash straight through a building. He staggers and slashes his hands at the air as he tries to hit anything that he feels.

Qrow looks over and he sees that Watts is running ahead and he sees that Salem is headed straight for the Relic. “They’re going for the Relic! We need to hurry!” Qrow yells.

“Run!” Sun yells and they all realise that they do not have the time to face Fury. So they have one option.

Run.

They all sprint from Fury and he stumbles out from the building with fire building up on his body as he stares at them. He roars and sprints after them again, his footfalls rumbling behind them as he runs after them. Watts runs after them, but a building collapses from Fury’s entrance between him and the others. He is at a dead end, and Neptune sees he is. Watts climbs up onto a building and he shoots at them. Jaune holds his shield up to deflect the bullets from Watts. Neptune sees him and he grits his teeth, climbing up the building to go after him. “Keep going! I’ll keep Watts occupied!” Neptune yells. Ren, Sun and Kassius spot that he is running off and they sigh.

Kassius looks at Yang and he looks at Fury. “I’ll lure Fury away! Get to the Relic!” He orders. Ren and Sun run with him as they get Fury’s attention.

“Kassius!” She yells.

Kassius fires Vulcan Nox at Fury and the bullets hit him in the face and he recoils with anger as the bullets graze his face. He growls with rage and then bellows at them, sprinting straight at them again.

“Come on, you ugly bastard!” Sun yells as he fires Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at the titan. He looks at Blake as she stands there. “I’ll catch up!” He promises and she nods at him, following the others. Fury charges straight for them and they run towards a huge set of doors that await them. They push them open and they run into the building, the same one that Neptune and Watts are on top of. They block the door and they look around.

“You think that’ll hold him?” Ren wonders.

The doors burst open and Fury roars at them as he stands there.

“Nope.” Kassius answers.

Fury roars and he charges straight at them.

Ruby and the others approach the steps that head to the statue, but then they stop in their tracks.

Death, Fear and Loss stand there, along with Hazel and Tyrian.

Salem stands by the statue with the other relics in her hands, holding them tight as her eyes glow bright red. Death spins Ferrum Arctus through his fingers as he stares at them. “This is it...” Ruby says to them, Crescent Rose transforms into Scythe Form. Yang pumps Ember Celica to activate them, Blake draws Gambol Shroud as she stands beside Yang and Weiss points Myrtenaster at the Knights beside Ruby.

Team R.W.B.Y is reunited at last, to fight the Knights of Grimm.


	50. Axzura's Rage

**Neptune**

The blue haired huntsman grips onto a brick that sticks out from the building above where Fury has entered. He can feel the heat of his flames from up there, making him sweat as a reaction. He looks up and his eyes widen when he sees Watts stood above and pointing his two revolvers at him. He fires the revolvers over and over again at him, and Neptune swings out of the way and catches onto another brick, moving round the building to avoid Watts’ gunfire. “You seem to be just as persistent as your friends, boy!” Watts yells with anger, stepping around the rooftop, looking at where Salem is, seeing the rest of his enemies have reached the Statue, beginning their assault. He grits his teeth out of anger, and then he looks for Neptune.

He looks over the edge to find Neptune, but he cannot see him. He narrows his eyes when he looks, until Neptune suddenly jumps upwards and kicks him in the head, making him stagger backwards. Neptune lands and he aims his rifle at Watts as he stands there, holding both of his Revolvers in his hands, transforming them into their blade form. Watts smirks as he stands there, and Neptune paces back and forth as he watches his every move. “Not letting you get away this time, Watts.” Neptune snarls as he stares at the man. Watts spins his blades through his fingers as paces back and forth on the rooftop above where Fury is facing Kassius, Ren and Sun.

Watts stares at him, and then a sinister smirk appears on his face. He begins to piece it all together, he knows that his parents were in that village when he destroyed it with the Dam, but he never realised that he was in fact there as well. “You were there...weren’t you?” Watts questions him as he stands there. Neptune raises an eyebrow with confusion when he watches him, because he knows that Watts is doing this to lower his guard. So he plays along, but stays ready for any kind of rush attack that he is planning with this discussion.

“Where?” Neptune responds as he paces with him, they circle one another on the rooftop of the building.

“That Village, west of Mistral where the Dam blew.” Watts adds as he watches him, and Neptune’s eyes widen and he grits his teeth. He can see it flashing in his eyes again, how his parents plummeted into the rushing waters of the dam that exploded.

“What has that got to do with anything?” Neptune questions with angered eyes as he watches the villainous man who patrols him with those blades extended by his legs. The light from the huge spotlights inside of the cave glimmer off the sharp curved blades. Watts provides a cruel smile under that moustache that makes Neptune even more enraged when he glares at the man.

“Did you ever wonder _how_ the Dam exploded?” Watts asks him as he walks around him, his trench coat blows in the breeze from the cracks in the cave that reveal some sunlight from the surface. Neptune narrows his eyes with anger as he stares at the scientist that circles him.

“No and I don’t intend to dwell on it.” Neptune states as he scowls at the man, but Watts does not seem to care. He seems to have an urge to bolster that cruel ego of his even further by revealing the truth to the boy. Whether or not that is a good idea to piss off a Huntsman like Neptune is a good idea or not is up to him.

“Well – I believe that you deserve an answer.” Watts tells him. He walks around as if he was giving a speech to a bunch of students about something, further adding to how little he really cared about all the souls who lost their lives in that flood. “You see...we attempted to destroy Mistral many times before. Once by corrupting their finances, but some good people of Atlas decided they could help the poor souls out by lending some lien to them. Another method? We tried the same strategy we used on Beacon; send in some students undercover...but that failed as well, because the Huntsmen there were not as thick as they were in Beacon.” He continues to explain and Neptune keeps his teeth gritted as Watts speaks to him with that cunning smile on his face. Watts then stops as he turns to Neptune on his heel, smiling at the boy as he turns.

“And the other option? We attempted to floor Mistral with the lake in their little Dam District just west of the city; we calculated that the amount of water and distance between the district and the city would be enough to destroy the city.” He announces, and Neptune’s eyes widen with horror now that he has realised the truth. The dam’s explosion was not an accident, it was all planned to destroy Mistral...

Neptune’s shock can be seen in his blue eyes, and the consternation on his face makes the man smile evilly at him. “It...Was...” He stammers with disbelief at this revelation, and then Watts holds out both of his hands as he stands there with that smile.

“It was me, dear boy.” Watts tells him, like he is proud of his involvement in the death of his parents. “You know, I only suspected that your parents died there when I saw you there with the Schnee Girl.” Watts explains with a chuckle and Neptune tightens his grip on his Rifle, his hair crackles with anger as his Semblance begins to activate. “You know it really is a shame that the Knights were able to destroy Mistral as quickly as they did – made the deaths of your parents utterly meaningless.” He says with a smile – that is the final straw for Neptune. His eyes erupt with lightning and his anger is fully unleashed.

“Shut up, you son of a bitch!” Neptune roars with rage, his voice becoming crackly with the lightning that bursts from his skin, transforming his rifle into his Trident Form, electricity passing through the prongs as he points it at him with gritted teeth. Watts smirks and he holds his blades up, ready to fight.

“Come then, Huntsman...have your revenge.” He challenges. Neptune roars with rage as he sprints at Watts and jumps at him with his Trident and swings it towards him as Watts slashes with his Daggers.

 

**Kassius**

Fury stands before them, the fire never ceasing its brightness and heat as he glares at them. His teeth are gnashing together and he growls aggressively like a feral dog, cinders and magma drooling like saliva from his mouth as he stares at them and slowly stomps towards them. Every footfall makes the ground shake. Sun and Ren stand with him with their weapons at the ready. “Um...Okay...Any ideas?” Sun asks them and the two of them look at Ren and he just shrugs, just as concerned as they are. Their attention is caught by the savage voice of Fury as he stands there, saying something.

“Trove...” Fury gnarls animalistically as he stands there, barely even pronouncing the word when he stands there, his hands are actually shaking with rage, constantly clenched into fists. His fists are so tight right now that the obsidian is actually cracking and crumbling, only to be regenerated by the magma.

“What’s he saying?” Sun whispers into Kassius’ ear.

“I dunno.” Kassius responds, keeping his eyes focused on the Berserk Knight of Fury before them as he speaks to himself, muttering things over and over. The loss of his Trove has made him go full berserk mode, the only way to calm him is to destroy his form now. Even the other Knights could not calm him down, that is what they are dealing with. A monster that cannot tell friend from foe anymore.

“Trove...hidden...from...me...” Fury snarls with anger, his burning eyes twitching as he remembers picking those golden coins up and watching with anguish as they all turned to dust before his very eyes. For whatever reason, he could not touch them, like some kind of curse has made that impossible for him. “Stolen...from me...” Fury growls, louder this time as his head looks up at them and his fiery wings flex outwards. “Taken...from me!” Fury roars, his words turning into berserk roars as he stares at the three huntsmen before him and the fire that surrounds him now ignites to a forest fire level.

“Uh oh.” Ren says with fear as Fury throws his arms back and his jaws open wide as he bellows at them and sprints straight at them. As he pulls his arms back, the action rips his ribcage open for a moment.

“Watch out!” Kassius yells, the three of them dive out of the way, Sun rolls it off and he holds Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand as he sees Fury smashing into the wall, sending cracks up the wall and to where Neptune is battling against Watts just above them. Fury steps away from the wall where the flames are burning from his impact, he sharply turns his head and he roars again and does the same thing, pulling his arms back and roaring before charging. This time, however, Sun spots the ribs opening up from his aggressive pulling his arms back. The crunching bang of the bones snapping out of place as he does that goes through them, revealing what looks like a burning hot core in the centre of his chest.

“What the hell’s going on with his ribs?” Sun asks them as he stands there, and the two of them focus on the ribs as they break open and then he prepares to run at them, scraping his foot into the ground like a Bull would before charging. Ren looks at the heart and then he looks at the others.

“He’s breaking his ribs over and over again to bring himself pain...” Ren points out, holding Stormflower up to figure out how to fight him in this form. He was always tough to fight, but Kassius has an idea.

A crazy one.

“A looks like there’s a core in his chest...alright, that’s got to be a weak spot! Aim for it!” Kassius calls out, activating Vulcan Nox by thrusting his arms upwards to make the bracer extend and the barrels activate. He aims and fires a bullet into the chest and magma bursts from his chest like flesh, but he keeps on charging. Kassius fires a couple more rounds at him before he gets far too close for comfort, using the thrusters in his Exo-Suit to dodge the monster as he passes him. Fury drags his massive hands into the ground to slow himself down and then he forms his axes in his hands for more attacks. The impact of his axe into the ground melts the stone and then he charges again, and when he does the ribs open up as well.

Fury sprints straight at Ren and the Kuroyurian Huntsman aims both Stormflower Pistols at the Berserk Knight and he shoots the green rounds over and over again into his chest, adding some more damage to his chest. He manages to do enough that there is a pulse from the chest of the Berserk Fury and he roars with agony, staggering back and he presses his hand to his chest with anger and pain, magma leaking from the wound and then the ribs reconnect back into place. “That’s definitely a weakness!” Ren calls out, retreating from the Knight before he recovers. Fury growls and then he howls to the sky so loud that it echoes out of the caverns, even Glynda can hear it where she is. He roars with pure rage and then he uses his wings to send his form high in the air and then crashing down in front of Kassius, slamming one of his axes down in front of him.

Kassius is knocked onto his back and then he starts to crawl back as Fury whacks the axes down over and over again before his feet where he was, tearing up the ground with the rage that he unleashes upon where he is. Kassius uses the thrusters to jettison himself back and then he lands back where he was, shooting Vulcan Nox at the Berserk Fury. “Wait till he gets close, then shoot him in the chest!” Kassius calls out to the others.

“Yeah! You get cosy with him, I’ll stand back!” Sun sarcastically says, transforming his staff into Shotgun Nunchuck Form. Fury turns his head and then roars at him, sprinting straight at him. Sun fires them over and over again, one at a time as he juggles them at a time, ejecting empty shells onto the floor as he fires at the charging Fury that is running right at him. Sun laughs when he jumps over the Knight and lands behind him. Fury turns round and then forms a Fireball in his open palm and throws it straight at Sun, he uses his Monkey Tail to wrap round a damaged piece of rebar and he swings out of the way of the fireball. As he flies through the air, he keeps shooting at the Knight beneath him, hitting him in chest a couple times, but it has not yet done enough damage to make him get weaker. Fury turns and he sees a crushed car under some rubble and he grabs it with his hand and pulls it from the rubble with ease and throws it straight at the Monkey Faunus. Sun’s eyes widen when he sees the car flying towards him. “Uh oh.” Sun groans just before the truck takes him out of the air and he plummets with it. Before it could crush him under its weight, he crawls across it and gets onto the roof, leaping off and landing on his two feet before it hits the ground.

Kassius and Ren sprint at the Knight of Fury and he turns, seeing them both running at him. Fury grits his jagged molten teeth and he snarls, smoke bursting from his nostrils, swinging his axe in one hand at them both, scraping it across the floor as he tries to hit them. Kassius slides under the legs of Fury and Ren jumps up and he runs across the Knight’s arm, shooting him in the side of the head. Kassius jumps up and hangs onto his chest with his cybernetic hand, taking Lash Equinox and stabbing it into the Knight’s chest over and over again to try and pry his ribs open. Kassius strains, feeling the fire burning against his cybernetic arm. Fury glares at him and grabs him with his burning hand and he throws him into a building with force. He then jumps in the air and spins round with his swings extended, the action throws Ren from his shoulders.

He lands with a crash, making the ground beneath them shake erratically.

Fury turns, his eyes burning bright and hot as he stares straight at them. Kassius groans with pain, pushing his body up slowly as the rubble falls off his shoulders but he falls onto his back with pain. Fury stares at him and walks towards him with anger in his eyes. Fury pants with anger, the axe held tight as he stares at him. “Die...Huntsman!” Fury roars as he brings his axe down with force, but something stops the axe. Kassius opens his eyes and he sees Sun’s Via Sun Semblance holding the arm of Fury up with all their might, he looks through the hole and sees Sun there with his hands together.

Kassius takes his chance, noticing that Fury’s ribcage is wide open, and he yells, driving his sword into the chest of Fury, and there is a second pulse, the flash throws Kassius back and he rolls across the floor, landing outside on the other side of the building, but still in the same courtyard. Fury roars with pain, staggering around and even falling forward at one point, stopping his fall with his massive infernal hand. He growls with then shrieks to the sky again, and Ren notices a difference in Fury’s body.

There are cracks forming across his body, ones that are not being healed by the magma. Ren gasps, realising that they are sourced from his chest, the more damage that they will do, the less stable he will become. “Guys! It’s working!” Ren calls to them, pointing at the cracks on Fury’s titanic body as he stumbles out from the building, growling even more furiously than he already was.

“Got a question – what will happen when we destroy his body?” Sun asks them, a factor none of them have actually taken into consideration. But if it is anything like the Fire Elemental Warriors that Fury was able to summon when he was in control of himself, then it might be one big explosion.

“We’ll figure that part out when we get to it!” Ren tells him, since Fury has recovered and now has turned to face them. Sun sighs with annoyance when Fury’s eyes meet theirs.

“Let me guess...he’s gonna charge?” Sun wonders.

The sound of his roar and the rumbling of his footfalls gets closer.

“Yep.”

 

**Penny**

The Grimm are swarming towards the entrance at full force. Penny launches her swords into the chest of a Beowulf and kills it instantly; most of the Acolytes of Lien have made a full retreat, back to the Drift of Wandering Star or are dead at this point. A Griffin flies towards Penny with a roar, until a purple flash impacts the Griffin in its side and knocks it out of the sky, and into Raven’s blade. Raven nods at Glynda as she stands at the front, using her Crop to fight as many of them as she can, tearing the terrain apart and forming objects that she can launch at the horde. She creates a giant arrow and launches it towards the Grimm, killing about seven Beowulves in one attack.

Taiyang rushes forward and punches a Beowulf in the head hard enough to knock it onto the ground. He ducks down to avoid the claws of a second Beowulf but he spins round and roundhouse kicks it in the head as well. He then engages his semblance when a Boarbatusk attacks him, his hand glows orange inside of his skin and he punches the Boar so hard that its tusks shatter from his powerful punch, and with his other fist he strikes down its head, and kills it instantly. Taiyang smirks as he stands there; he does not need to use a weapon, for his semblance makes his punches far more powerful naturally anyway. A red portal opens next to him, and Raven jumps out from it and cuts the wing from a Nevermore’s shoulder before it could grab Taiyang. She lands next to him with her helmet on and she watches as the huge Nevermore crashes down from the sky and into the field again, she looks at Taiyang and she nods, smiling behind her helmet.

A blue bolt of dust shoots past them and the Architect walks forward with his rifle in both hands, firing it over and over at the Grimm, nailing them in their heads. A Creep takes a round straight to the skull, but he turns when he senses a Wraith forming beside him. The hooded Ghost howls, swinging its lantern and sword straight at him. The Architect lifts his metal arm up and the ghostly lantern shatters upon impact and he transforms his rifle into its sword form and he strikes it across the head, the Wraith bursts into red flames as it is destroyed. He then throws the sword and it stabs straight through the heart of an Ursa that was charging at him, roaring as it attacked. Professor Port jumps in and fires his Blunderbuss into the chest of another Ursa that attacks him, but he kills it long before it could do any real damage to him. The massive Bear Grimm groans with pain as it collapses to the ground with a thud. He throws the firearm in the air and catches it by the barrel, swinging the battleaxe across the heads of three Possessed Skeletons by Geists, their bodies shatter from the impact and the Geists attempt to flee. Port laughs as he watches them flee, shooting his blunderbuss and ending them before they get out of range.

He smiles under his moustache, but quickly changes when a Deathstalker erupts from the ground next to him, roaring as it lands right beside him. The Deathstalker roars, swinging its tail round and smashing Port back, sending him back to the others. The Deathstalker snaps its pincers as it stands there, approaching them slowly. Oobleck smiles when he sees the huge Scorpion rushing towards them, igniting the end of his thermo and he leaps towards it, pirouetting through the air and creating a powerful explosive attack on the Arachnid. The Deathstalker staggers back and Oobleck aims his Thermo at the beast, firing a fireball straight into the head of the monster, killing it instantaneously.

Port groans as he gets up. “He got lucky.” He sighs as he stands there, Glynda helps him up, looking around the area as the Grimm keep on congregating towards them.

“There was a pulse from inside, the Grimm are trying to get in.” Glynda tells them all, noticing the glowing red eyes are glowing even brighter than they usually are; The Relic of Choice is still controlling them in their paths. She then spots a Guardian Knight emerging from one of the buildings with the sword in its hand.

“Protect the Relic!” The Guardian Knight shouts as it sprints towards them, they all seem to share the same voice as well, a scratchy monstrous voice.

“They just keep coming...” Penny whimpers fearfully, looking at Glynda.

“We can hold them off.” Glynda assures them.

“Yeah, for how long, though?” Taiyang asks her. Glynda does not answer, because she has spotted something approaching towards them across the town that they passed. Many soldiers sprint to their aid.

The White Fang.

And at the helm of these men...

Adam.

“Is that Adam?” Raven questions when she spots him charging to them with Wilt and Blush in his hand as he runs with his men.

“I thought he was supposed to stay back and recover?” Penny states, her memory clearly starting to recover herself.

“Maybe he changed his mind when he took Ilia’s body back to the ships.” Glynda states. He has his teeth gritted, slashing Grimm Beowulves out of his way as they charge.

“He’s bringing reinforcements!” Port tells them, seeing the soldiers he has brought, including a truck with a Machine Gun attached to the back of it and enough soldiers to hold the entrance. If they can make it.

“Even with these soldiers, defending the entrance isn’t gonna be easy!” Taiyang tells them all, Adam keeps on sprinting and he points ahead with his finger, looking back at the men and women that follow him.

“Advance!” Adam roars to them.

Suddenly the Giganotosaurus Grimm erupts from the buildings and clamps its enormous jaws onto his arm, carrying him above the floor and marching off with him. Blood sprays from his arm and he does not even scream, he just grunts as the monster takes him away from his people. The White Fang and the defenders of the Gateway gasp with horror when they see him being carried away by the Grimm Giganotosaurus.

“Commander Taurus!” A soldier screams with horror as they watch him get carried away by the beast. But Adam points at them as he is carried by the monster with Wilt and Blush, since it was his other arm that was bitten off.

“I said advance, goddamn it!” He yells, amazing and inspiring his soldiers from how despite facing death right now, he is still giving them orders and believing in the cause. “The Grimm are converging on the entrance! Don’t let them in! Do not falter!” Adam yells as the Giganotosaurus carries him, and the soldiers are given the courage to keep going in his name. Adam grits his teeth with anger and he presses his legs against the side of the beast’s head, he slashes Wilt and Blush across his own arm to free him from the jaws of the monster, and then he falls past it.

But he is not done yet, he stabs into its leg and swings round, using the momentum to throw himself back up into the air. Blood is pouring from his wound, but he ignores the excruciating pain as he slashes the monster across the face with Wilt and Blush. The Giganotosaurus roars with pain as black smoke erupts from its wound, staggering aside from the impact. He then drags his blade down its face as he falls by it, yelling as he does it.

He plummets back down to the ground and he lands on the ground with pain. The Giganotosaurus turns its massive head and it slowly moves towards him, growling with anger as it stares at him. The two huge Therapod feet stamp down before him as it stands there, looking him right in the eyes. The creature growls faintly as it stares at him, the three clawed arms scraping against the floor.

His stump is still bleeding across the floor and Adam is ready to accept his fate, until a White Fang painted Atlesian Fighter jet comes flying round the mountains and fires a missile straight into the side of the Giganotosaurus’ head, making it roar in pain as it staggers aside from the missile hitting its head. Adam does not know who it was that saved him, but she knows what she is doing.

Her large green eyes staring at the monster that roars at her craft, long red hair down her head. Pyrrha is the one flying the vehicle, seems the Onyx Phantom has granted her experience in many different things than just fighting skills, including the experience in flying vehicles like that.

The roar of the afterburners echoes across the islands, cracking every now and then as she breaks the sound barrier. The Giganotosaurus bellows at where she glides, and she banks round for a second attack, firing the machine guns at the beast and launches another missile into its leg. The Giganotosaurus roars with pain from the impact, smoke billows from its fresh wounds, staggering back and Adam gets out of its way. He runs off, tearing some of his clothing from his body and wrapping it around his stump to stop the bleeding as best as he can. He keeps on retreating whilst the Giganotosaurus tries to fight Pyrrha.

Pyrrha banks round and she starts to fly directly for the Giganotosaurus, and narrows her eyes and then fires two missiles that blast straight towards its head. The Giganotosaurus roars at her, the missiles fly directly into its mouth and they explode inside of its head. The roar is silenced instantly and the skull completely explodes into chunks that fall all around them. The Giganotosaurus topples over onto the ground with a heavy thud, smoke erupting from its corpse as it decays away where it fell. Pyrrha looks at the smoking body and she smiles as she knows she helped them a great deal by killing that thing.

Penny gasps when she sees Pyrrha in the cockpit of the jet that just killed the huge Creature of Grimm, saving Adam’s life from it as he runs to them with his arm still missing. The Jet banks round and it begins to fly straight for the Drift of Wandering Star, the missiles ready to be unleashed upon the vessel.

Inside of the Bridge is Orson, and his eyes focus on the jet that flies straight for them. He clenches his hand into a fist when he sees her. “You damned traitor.” He snarls with anger when he looks right into the cockpit. Pyrrha grits her teeth, and she patches herself into the Bridge so then he can hear her voice.

“You took me from my friends, you and your alliance...” Pyrrha snarls. “Time I returned the favour.” Pyrrha concludes, firing a missile straight towards the bridge. Orson’s eyes widen and he dives down to avoid the missile.

“Hit the deck!” He yells, the missile shoots straight through the glass and it explodes into the back of the room. Many soldiers scream as the hull breach sucks them from the ship and plummeting down to their doom. Orson hangs on and before long, a defence to a hull breach activates, a shield generates before them and protects them. Pyrrha flies behind the Drift of Wandering Star and she engages the Vertical Take-Off and Landing feature of this Aircraft, hovering behind the engines and she fires all of her remaining missiles into the Vessel’s engines. Missile after missile into the fuel cells of the ship, exploding one after another and creating one impressive light show.

Orson looks at the screens and his eyes widen when he realises what she is doing. “Crap! All Acolytes of Lien Forces on the Archipelago! Full Retreat!” He orders, nearly breaking his voice as he does it. The thrusters erupt, blasting fire out from the cells and the huge black, red and gold ship starts to move away from where she is. Many Acolytes of Lien Aircraft are seen flying away, even some Boats, until the Krastax that watch the seas rise up and pull them under to devour them all.

Only aircraft will be able to escape this island alive.

Pyrrha watches as the ship flies away, she is out of missiles and machine gun rounds. She stares at the Drift of Wandering Star as it retreats from the islands. Pyrrha looks down at the entrance where the Grimm are trying to kill them, where the White Fang are shooting them with the weapons that they brought with them and the Huntsmen that defend it.

She wants to help.

But she does not know if they can trust her yet.

She takes her jet and flies away from the Island, leaving them as she disappears into the clouds.

Glynda watches as she leaves, she saw her face in the cockpit and she sighs. “We’ll find you Pyrrha, I promise sweetheart.” She assures with a smile, only wishing to help the girl be free from what these people did to her. She still helped them, saved most of their lives by killing that Giganotosaurus and by scaring the Drift of Wandering Star off.

All they need to worry about know are the Creatures of Grimm and the Guardian Knights that will not stop until they get inside.

Adam limps over to them, his hand pressed against his stump and everyone is stunned at his survival against that monstrosity that took his arm. “How – How did you survive that?” Taiyang questions with complete and utter disbelief.

“Well...I guess a stubborn enough person can survive anything.” He says, clearly talking about Yang and how he did the same thing to her. He looks at his arm and then at her father. “I guess that makes Yang and I even now.” He chuckles, Taiyang doesn’t, but he just nods to him. Appreciating his help. A soldier helps improve the patching up of his wound, actually managing to stop most of the bleeding.

“You sure you can fight one-handed?” The Architect asks him, looking concerned with his metal brows raised slightly. Adam chuckles as he holds Wilt and Blush tight.

“Never stopped me before.” Adam assures.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby yells as she slashes Crescent Rose at Death, and he swings Ferrum Arctus straight at her. Their blades scrape across one another, sending sparks dancing and raining everywhere, loud metallic bangs echo through the place. Ruby bounces back and she shoots her rifle at the Knight as he goes to attack her. Yang jumps in and punches the Knight of Death across the face, causing him to stagger back as the shot of Ember Celica does some more damage to him. He growls with anger, tightening his grip on his sword as the shadows repair the damage done to his face. Death charges the black lightning through the blade of Ferrum Arctus and he unleashes the bolt of lightning towards them, Yang dives out of the way and moves Ruby away as well.

Death turns sharply when Qrow swings his sword towards him and their blades impact with a metallic bang. Death scrapes Ferrum Arctus across his and then kicks him in the chest. The red eyes of Death stare at his red ones emotionlessly. Death chuckles menacingly, spinning his sword through his fingers. “So you’ve come here to die like your beloved.” Death snarls and Ruby’s eye widens with confusion.

“No.” Qrow growls as he points his sword towards Death. “I came here to kick your ass.” He snarls, striking first at Death, the Knight deflects his sword and they keep on fighting.

“Yang? What was Death talking about?” Ruby asks with a very concerned voice, since she still does not know the truth about her heritage.

“Later.” Yang says to her, firing Ember Celica at a Beowulf that was inside, killing it instantly. Blake throws her grappling hook and she swings round and kicks Fear in the head with both feet. Fear grunts, staggering back but then he grins maniacally, spinning round and slashing at her with Formido Falcem, the curved blade of his scythe misses her by an inch. He laughs as he attacks her, firing his Crossbow with one hand towards her as well, the bolt misses her by an inch.

“You were born to flee, weren’t you Blake?” Fear challenges with that smile, and Blake grits her teeth, shooting at him, and then making a shadow of herself to dodge the slash of his scythe. “Always leaving that shadow of yourself behind...that’s what I like about you! We’re the same, you and I.” Fear chuckles.

“No we’re not!” Blake yells, slashing Fear and he deflects Gambol Shroud with his scythe, spinning it through his fingers to deflect her bullets from hitting him.

“Okay, fair enough. You run from fear, whilst I bring it!” He yells, his wings stretch outwards and he throws himself high above her and he holds his scythe in both hands to bring down above her. Yatsuhashi pushes Blake out of the way and he holds his bronze sword over his head to stop Fear, the much bigger and heavier being pushes the warrior down to one knee from the impact. He roars as he swings round and slices across Fear’s back when he jumps off. Fear grunts and he stands there, staring at the boy.

“Keep talking.” Yatsuhashi challenges. Fear smirks.

“Ooh...I love a challenge – you’ll be regretting that later!” He yells, spinning the scythe through his fingers so fast that it looks like a blur. He creates a horrifying howl from his mouth that stretches down further than it ever should, and then he slams it down. The Fear Toxin busts from his body and it begins to have its effects on Blake. She gasps when her surroundings transform before her very eyes, becoming the destroyed remains of her home, on fire from what Fury did to the place.

Blake staggers back, terrified from what she is seeing. She then sees the body of Fury walking towards her with his hands stretched out as he walks over to her. She already figures out that it is Fear disguising himself as her fear, after what he did to her parents; he has replaced the terror that Adam once filled. “Your fears will never leave you, little Blake.” Fear snarks as he walks towards her. The fact that she has figured out that it is just Fear messing with her head; she shakes it off, quickly able to tell the difference due to his mannerisms, Fury never walks like that.

“Nice try!” Blake yells, running at Fear, and she slashes at where he was, until he vanishes into a swarm of crows. She looks around, and she turns, seeing Fear spinning round and roundhouse kicking her in the chest, sending her flying back. She slides across the floor and groans with pain where she has fallen.

Yatsuhashi looks around and he screams with fear when he sees that he is on the edge of a cliff, beginning to panic when he sees the far drop. His fear is heights, and he staggers away from it, turning his head and seeing three individuals moving identically to one another as one person. The dead bodies of Coco, Velvet and Fox walk towards him, all speaking with their voices. “You killed us, Yatsu...” Velvet tells him with dead eyes, and he stutters with horror. He then feels a cold hand touch his shoulder and he turns, seeing himself stood there with the same dead eyes.

But Fear is the one speaking.

“What a selfless fear.” He chuckles, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him off the cliff. Yatsuhashi screams with terror as he thinks he is falling to his death, but is just in fact being slammed into the ground by Fear. The ground cracks upon impact and the toxin wears off, and he stands beside the two of them with that smirk.

“Hey!” Oscar yells, getting his attention and he turns, seeing Oscar sprinting towards him, then suddenly appearing right in front of him after activating his semblance. Oscar roars, slamming his fist straight into the side of Fear’s face, so hard it knocks the Knight off his feet. Fear rolls across the floor and then he slams the Scythe down into the ground, scraping it through the ground. Oscar stands ready and he smirks at the Knight of Fear as he gets back up. “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” Oscar says to him, and Fear shakes his head.

“Not at all.” Fear admits, the most honest of the Knights as always.

Weiss yells, using her Glyphs to fight Loss as she bounces around to attack her, but Loss has got the same powers. Starla yells, using her own glyphs to throw herself straight at Weiss with her Tonfas at the ready, yelling as she slashes at her with the curved blades. Weiss gracefully dodges the blades and slices across Loss’ back. Starla yells in pain and she lands with perfect form, staring at where Weiss lands on the other side. Weiss points at Loss and she aims her sword at the Knight, darting towards her as she creates a Glyph under her feet which carries her at great speeds. She slams Myrtenaster into Loss’ chest, and the impact launches her back. Loss lands on both feet and then connects her Tonfas together into Bow Form, drawing the string and forming an arrow that she launches straight at her.

Weiss gasps, her eyes widen and she dives out of the way before the arrow could even touch her. She keeps moving towards Loss to do another attack, but Loss kicks her in the chest and then snaps her bow in half again, using them as Tonfas. She slashes and slashes at her and then she presses her hand against Myrtenaster to stop her blades. Loss pushes her down with her strength, her glowing blue eyes staring down at her from behind the veil. The metal creaks as she pushes towards her and Weiss looks at her, knowing that she is a Schnee. “Starla! I know that you are the best of them! Why are you helping her do this?” Weiss screams to her, and Loss stares at her.

“You think I have a choice?” Loss shouts back, grabbing Weiss by her hair and throwing her across the room again. Weiss yelps as she crashes to the floor and rolls. She presses her hand to the floor and tries to get back up, looking upwards and seeing Starla walking towards her with her Bow in her hand, drawing an arrow and aiming right at her head. “I have my duty.” She says, sounding just like Weiss when she believed that was the only reason for being a Huntress, which also shows how much Weiss has changed, and how close she was to becoming just like Loss.

“So do I, but you should never let your duty define you.” Weiss says to her, and it is clear that Starla is still in there, more so than her other comrades. Because she actually begins to contemplate on what Weiss is talking about. Suddenly a beam of white light crashes into Loss’ side and pushes her back, she strains as she is pushed back by the powerful light of the silver eyes. Weiss turns and sees Kragen is the one assisting her, walking towards Loss and constantly blasting the light from his eyes. Kragen yells, spinning round and slamming his Isomacium Staff across her cheek, sending Loss airborne and crashing down on the ground. Kragen offers his hand to her and she takes it, he pulls her back to her feet.

Loss stands back up and she stares at the two. “You don’t have to do this.” Weiss says to her, but Loss just aims at her again.

“What’ve I left to fight for?” She yells with anguish, launching an arrow straight at her, and Kragen spins his staff fast to shatter the arrow before it could hit either of them. She snaps the Bow into her Tonfas and sprints directly at them both. “Help your friends, she’s mine.” Kragen tells her, and Weiss nods, running to help Ruby and Yang against Death who is still fighting them both and Qrow at the same time. Kragen strikes first and she ducks and slides past him, but just as she goes to slice his aura, he blocks it with his staff and hits her in the head with the weapon. She grunts and then she jumps at him, he catches her by the neck and slams her into the ground. She wraps her legs around his neck and forces him onto his own head, rolling backwards and landing on her feet. She stamps down at his head but he moves at the perfect moment to dodge the heel.

Coco is unleashing the full fury of her Machine Gun at Tyrian who is sprinting towards her, dodging the bullets and he jumps at her, kicking her in the chest with both feet. Coco grunts, falling backwards and dropping the chaingun, Velvet punches at Tyrian and then swings her foot up into his chest. She then grabs his long scorpion-like tail of hair and punches him in the head as she pulls him back with force. Tyrian snarls with anger and he wraps his actual tail around her throat and lifts her off the floor, slamming her head-first into the ground. He extends his pincer blades, which are still stained with Ilia’s blood, and he goes to stab her just as he did to her.

Fox leaps in out of nowhere and tackles Tyrian into the floor, the Scorpion Faunus barks with anger when he releases the Bunny Faunus who coughs from being choked like that. She has her hand to her throat where Tyrian had her at his mercy, and she looks over at Fox as he punches Tyrian in the head. Tyrian laughs maniacally, slashing Fox across the cheek of his already scarred and blinded face. Fox spins round and punches at Tyrian and their fists impact at the exact same time, creating a shockwave that blows the dust away from them. Tyrian lunges forward with his scorpion barb but Fox catches it and wraps it round his arm just like how Tyrian did to Ilia’s whip, pulling him closer, he then yanks him towards Fox and punches him extremely hard in the face.

Tyrian slides across the floor and he punches the ground with anger. He turns his head and he rushes towards Fox, but is met by the pissed off Coco Adel, her sunglasses pulled down as she stares at him. The chaingun aimed straight at him. “Don’t mess with my team.” She snarls, the barrels spin round extremely quickly and then she unleashes the storm of bullets, they all hit him in the chest and he is sent flying through a brick pillar that stands there. He groans with pain as he lays there.

Jaune presses his shield up against Hazel as he goes to stab the Arc Boy, pushing against the massive muscular man as best as he can. Hazel grabs the shield and rips it from Jaune’s fingers and he punches him right in the gut. Jaune winces and Hazel picks him up by the throat and punches him straight in the face. “You could have chosen any life but this...” Hazel sighs, he is clearly tired of all of this, but he cannot face betraying Salem, for he only wants revenge for his daughter.

“Oscar told me...about what happened to your daughter!” Jaune winces as he grabs the wrist of Hazel and the man’s eyes widen with disbelief when he hears the boy mention her.

“What?” He questions.

“Why do you keep helping her? She was the one that ordered Cinder to kill Amber! I was there when she was killed!” Jaune rasps as he tries to free himself from Hazel’s grip. Hazel is clearly contemplating everything that Jaune tells him, but then he sees Ozpin in his memory and pure anger appears to come over him.

“Ozpin made her become the Fall Maiden, he did all of it! She died because of him! She never wanted that power!” Hazel roars with anger and Jaune looks at him.

“I know! I am not defending Ozpin; the man has to answer for more than just your daughter! But you and I both know that we cannot let her win!” Jaune says to Hazel, and he begins to contemplate over whether or not he should actually switch sides. The boy is right...Ozpin has committed wrongs against both sides, turned his daughter into the Fall Maiden and tried to turn Pyrrha into one as well, using her idea of Destiny to manipulate her. Before he can change his mind, however, a supersonic squeal gets closer and closer, and he sees Nora launching towards him and she slams Magnhild against his chest so hard that he releases Jaune and throws him into the wall with a heavy bang.

Oscar darts over to Hazel and he looks at him. Hazel looks at Oscar and all Oscar does is offer his hand to him. “Please...help us...” He begs him with his hand stretched out.

_We can bring Ozpin to justice together!_

_We just need to stop Salem; otherwise it will all be for nothing._

_Your daughter would have died for nothing._

Hazel looks up at the boy, and he grabs his hand.

Cinder blasts flames straight into Death as he fights Qrow and he spins round and kicks the Branwen in the side of the head. Death is pushed back by the flames but his shroud of darkness that protects the Isomacium is making him unstoppable. She then slashes across his chest with one of her swords, and she looks at Ruby. Ruby nods at her, and Cinder nods back. Oscar darts over to them and he looks at them. “We need to get to Salem! Cinder, do you think you can challenge her?” Oscar asks her.

“I can try.” Cinder says with a shrug.

“That’ll have to do.” Oscar sighs.

Cinder nods and she takes off, using her abilities as the Fall Maiden to fly towards Salem where she is beginning to activate the Relics. Cinder floats up behind her, staring straight at her. “Salem!” She shouts, and she turns, glaring at the amber eyed girl.

“Cinder...” Salem growls with anger. “I should have known you didn’t have the stomach to do what was necessary.” Salem snarls.

“I can’t let you activate those Relics, Salem.” Cinder tells her. Salem smirks sinisterly at Cinder, and then powerful forks of lightning burst from the relics.

“Try and stop me.” Salem challenges. Cinder grits her teeth and blasts towards Salem, swinging her fist towards the Dark Queen.

Oscar looks up at Cinder as she fights, and then he looks across the cavern, his eyes widen with shock when he sees.

Neptune is getting beaten by Watts.

Watts shoots Neptune in the leg and his aura has been depleted, blood sprays from the wound and he collapses to one knee.

“Weiss!” Oscar calls and Weiss’ eyes widen.

“What is it?” Weiss asks.

“Neptune’s in trouble! I’m gonna help him!” Oscar promises, darting off to help Neptune before it is too late.

 

**Kassius**

Fury roars at them and he charges once again at them, just missing Sun as he swings his axe straight at him. Sun rolls out of the way and he aims Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at the Titan as he slams against the wall. “Come on, baby! Come to Sun Wukong! Check out these guns!” He taunts as he flexes to Fury, the Demonic Beast stares at him and roars, his ribcage cracks open again and he sprints towards him again. Sun rapid-fires the two shotgun Nun-Chucks over and over again into his ribs and then there is another fiery pulse and the cracks spread across his body. Fury shrieks with pain, staggering back and shutting his ribs with his own hands as the magma leaks from his chest.

He slams both fists into the ground extremely hard and the cavern shakes; they are still very close to the Volcanic Core, perhaps on top of it. They know that if he explodes, it could trigger the Volcanic Chain Isles into a massive eruption. If that happens, then they need to get off those islands as fast as they possibly can. Fury howls to the roof of the cavern with rage as he rips chunks of obsidian from his own head out of anger. He then stares at Ren and sprints right at him again, but something has changed.

His body has become so unstable that lava is pouring from his core and leaking onto the ground, creating a trail of lava behind him. Kassius spots it and his eyes widen when he sees it. “He’s leaking lava! Keep clear!” He yells to them, and Ren shoots into Fury’s chest over and over again, rolling aside just before he could grab him. They have learned a valuable lesson; they cannot risk using melee on the core because they will take damage from his burning body, only firearms will work against him. This berserk roars echo for miles and he narrowly misses Ren, swinging his axe at him to try and kill him, but Ren is too quick for him to hit. Fury slows down, sliding across the floor and swinging at the air as he slows down, barking every now and then.

Fury’s wings stretch out and he throws himself at Ren, slamming both fists into the ground with force, sending cracks through the floor and spilling Lava right in front of him. Fury pulls his arms back again and his ribcage breaks open once more, gallons of lava pouring from the wound as he charges at Kassius and Sun. They both start firing over and over again into his core, the light glows bright from inside his body, the cracks becoming ever more present in his body. They both roll out of the way, separated by the magma, but they can still jump over it. Fury crashes into the building that Neptune is being beaten by Watts. On top of the building, Watts draws his Revolver and points it at Neptune’s head, hardly even reacting to the quake beneath them.

Watts chuckles menacingly. “It really is a shame...all those lives wasted...and for what? We never even used the Dam idea ever again.” He laughs cruelly and it only makes Neptune that much more enraged.

Fury steps back from the building, sharply turning his head with a screech and he roars, sprinting at them again. Kassius aims down the sight of Vulcan Nox and fires a bullet that flies directly into Fury’s ribs. The impact creates another, more violent pulse. Fury staggers back and he roars with pain, now he is unable to close his ribs, they are broken open and the magma will no longer repair the damage. Worse still, something else is happening to him. Superheated Pyroclastic Ash is venting out from his core and is following the trail of magma when he charges. The cracks are so unstable as well that there are mini explosions going off across his body in different places.

Sun spots the ash and his eyes widen. “Oh shit! Pyroclastic Ash!” Sun yells, rolling away from Fury and holding his breath to not breathe the stuff in.

“Don’t breathe it in!” Ren advises as he shoots at the Knight when he runs at where Sun was. Fury swings at Sun and just misses, he is getting closer with every swing. Kassius loads a new set of rounds into Vulcan Nox.

Explosive Rounds.

Fury stares at him and sprints straight at him, roaring extremely loudly as he runs straight at Kassius. Kassius waits and waits for Fury to get closer, he then rolls out of the way and Fury smashes through the wall he was stood in front off. The wall shatters like glass and he stumbles inside. The building is the same one that Watts and Neptune are on top of. What both Watts and Fury do not realise, is that Kassius saw Oscar and they nodded, since they both know the plan.

Fury turns and he roars with rage, his ribs still wide open.

Kassius fires the round, and the explosive round lands straight in the core with an explosive bang. The explosion ruptures throughout the entire cavern. Fury’s eyes widen and he roars with agony as he staggers back from the explosion, cracks spread across his body in many places, small explosions going off everywhere on Fury’s form. He staggers back as he falls to both knees and he throws his arms back, roaring endlessly to sky. Kassius, Ren and Sun look at each other. “Is he gonna?” Sun asks, noticing the cracks glowing brighter and brighter, the chain reaction of explosions growing more frequent and aggressive as it goes on and on.

Ren’s eyes widen. “Yeah...I think we should run.” Ren tells him.

“Good idea.” Kassius agrees, the three of them run as fast as they can from the courtyard where Fury is about to explode. His roars grow louder and louder as the explosions get worse and worse.

Watts smirks at Neptune, truly believing that he has won this fight, his gun pointed at Neptune’s head as he stands there. “What’s your masterful plan next, Neptune?” He scoffs. “The God of the Sea, and he cannot even look at water.” Watts chuckles as he stands there, and Neptune holds onto his Trident when he notices that Oscar is there.

“Yeah...” Neptune chuckles.

Fury’s cracks spread over his head as he roars with rage as he is about to detonate.

Watts’ eyes widen when he notices that something is wrong, seeing the others are fleeing and the howls of Fury. They are constant, not every now and then like they used to be with when he was charging to kill them over and over again.

 “But I have something that you don’t.” Neptune says.

Watts guffaws.

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?” Watts questions.

“Friends who don’t abandon you.” Neptune says, and Watts’ eyes widen.

The explosions blow Fury’s limbs off one by one and the three of them get as far from Fury as they possibly can.

“See the thing you have messed up on here, Watts...” Neptune begins as he stares at the man who is realising that he is about to be defeated, but he cannot wrap his head around it.

“I don’t think you’ve wrapped your head around the gravity of the situation here.” Neptune chuckles, and Watts begins to feel the heat.

Fury’s arms cross over each other as his core is about to go off.

“In other words Watts...” Watts says with a smile.

Neptune pulls his yellow goggles down as he smiles.

“Na-Night.” Neptune says proudly.

Fury’s bellows stridently as he throws his arms back and the cracks glow ever so bright and there is a deafening bang as his limbs explode and his entire form erupts into flames. His scream is demonic as is explodes, fading into the explosion as he rids himself of his enraged form. The explosion consumes the whole courtyard and wipes out the statue and where they fought. Kassius, Sun and Ren cover their heads as they take cover from the powerful explosion. The paroxysm is so powerful that it rides up the building, shattering every window with fire bursting out from them and towards the roof.

Watts realises his fate, his eyes widen, and the roof begins to come apart with fire rising up beneath them. But then time slows down immensely, and Oscar sprints to Neptune’s aid. Oscar grabs onto Neptune, and the act of doing so un-freezes Neptune from the time that he was just in, and Oscar helps him get away.

Then time resumes as they retreat across the rooftops.

Watts reaches out for them, roaring as he tries to escape the blast. “No!” He howls as the fire consumes him and the entire building shatters like glass into flames, his scream cut off by the blast of the explosion. Oscar gets Neptune to safety and they both look back at where he was.

Tyrian hears his Scroll beeping and he looks at his Squad Aura Screen.

Watts’ slides into the red, and then into nothing.

Along with a constant flat line.

Watts...is dead.

Through using Fury’s eruption as a weapon, they killed two birds with one stone.

Tyrian looks in the direction of the explosion and his eyes widen with disbelief at the realisation that someone managed to kill Watts.

And it was his own ego that killed him.


	51. We Have To Go

**Ruby**

Ruby yells, swinging Crescent Rose straight at Fear as he attacks her, cackling maniacally as he attacks. Formido Falcem just misses her as she hops over it and then dashes into her Petal Form behind him, striking him in the back. He snarls with pain, staggering forward and then spinning round with his Scythe held outwards, just narrowly missing her cheek when he attacked. Blake sprints at Fear and she jumps onto his chest and stabs into his rotten ribs with Gambol Shroud, the Katana’s blade tears straight through his rotten skin and flesh and she holds on as the tall Knight staggers around with her holding onto his bones. Fear grabs her and throws her from his chest and he goes to unleash his fear toxin onto her, until Yang jumps in from out of nowhere, punching Fear in the face with her cybernetic fist. The punch is so powerful that it makes an almighty bang upon impact, cracking his jaw, causing it to become dislocated. He staggers back and grabs his jaw, his eyes widen when Weiss shoots towards him and she slams her sword straight into his chest.

He impact throws Fear tumbling backwards. Team R.W.B.Y stand in formation, staring at the Knight as he gets back up, spinning Formido Falcem through his fingers. He grins and draws his Crossbow with one hand, aiming it directly at them and firing straight at them. Blake leaps into the air and performs a back-flip as she cuts the bolt in half mid-flight. Fear stands up slowly and glares at them as Team R.W.B.Y stand before him. Yang readies Ember Celica and she smiles with an excited look in her eyes, just like she always did. Blake holds Gambol Shroud, dual-wielding both the sheath and her Katana with her hair blowing in the wind. Weiss stands with perfect form, Myrtenaster pointed at him as she stands next to Ruby, her rose petals parting from her cape that blows with their hair. Fear chuckles as he stands tall, staring at them. “Of all the warriors I have faced through the years...” Fear admits as he looks at them. “None have been as defiant as you four.” He says, almost proudly, as he looks at his foes.

“Don’t expect that to change – because we’re Team Frickin’ R.W.B.Y.” Yang replies, even prouder than Fear was when he complimented them. Fear stands there and Loss lands next to him and Death stands with him as well. If Fury had not gone berserk, he would have formed here as well, however his form is absent from this battle. Tyrian turns, trying to figure out where Neo has gone.

But Neo has run off as well, just like the other mercenaries. He grits his teeth with anger after he notices that Hazel has joined their side as well.

He is the only one left that appears to still remain loyal to Salem or is not a coward. Tyrian looks at them all with fear, departing and fleeing from them all when he sees Team J.N.R, Team C.F.V.Y, Sun, Neptune, Kassius, Kragen, Oscar and Qrow stood before them all, ready to fight them all.

Death stands in the middle with Ferrum Arctus drawn and he points the blade at them.

Cinder lands with them as well, and Hazel approaches as well, holding his curved blade in his hand, Sun looks at him with a confused look. But he is not about to have them lose another ally in this fight. Jaune holds his shield up, front foot forward and his grip tight as he stares at the Knights. Nora holds Magnhild in its hammer form as she stares at them with a gritted grin on her face, giggling at the Knights as she stares. Ren points Stormflower at the Knights with a stern look in his eyes, ready to fight them all. Kassius flicks his swords upwards so then the blades extend and he stands with Yang, his eyes focused on them as well. Sun spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers and he laughs as he stands to Blake’s shoulder, and Neptune aims his rifle at them with his yellow goggles pulled over his eyes. Team C.F.V.Y stands at the ready, Coco’s chaingun pointed at Death and she pits a toothpick from her mouth, smirking at them. Yatsuhashi holds his huge bronze Sword in both hands, glaring at them by Coco’s side. Velvet raises her fists, her bunny ears bouncing every now and then as she stands there and Fox extends his red Tonfas.

Kragen’s silver eyes glow bright as he charges his energy into his staff, looking up at Salem as she looks down at him, her eyes glowing bright red as she charges the Relics up. Oscar walks over to Ruby’s side and he smiles, staring at the enemy as well, the enemies he met before they became the Spectral Knights that they are now. Qrow spins his sword round, letting the cogs inside churn round at times and his eyes are focused on Death, the one that killed Summer. Cinder’s black dress glows as orange energy passes through it, and she looks to her side and sees Hazel there, his dagger in his massive hand, and he looks at her with a smile. She then looks at Kassius and all he does is nod, and she nods back.

It’s strange...but with them...Cinder actually feels like she is part of a team, not a pawn in someone else’s game.

Salem clenches her hand into a fist when she sees the two traitors, and that everyone else has fled her side, even Tyrian has fled simply because the odds of success are too great. The only allies she has left that are standing by her side are Death, Fear and Loss, who stand ready to fight every single one of them. They fought them once before, but this time...they know how to fight the Knights.

And there are more of them this time.

The only lives on the line are their own.

Salem growls with anger and she stares at the Knights. “Kill them! I must activate the Relics whilst I still can! There is still time!” Salem yells, the lightning bursts from the Relics as the black shadows pour from her skin and upon them, beginning to activate them. Before Ruby can even ask her to, Cinder blasts into the air and flies towards Salem. The Dark Queen gasps and turns, seeing Cinder launching herself straight at her and she slams her fist into Salem’s cheek, knocking her backwards slightly. But Salem has her own powers, she channels what appears to be red lightning through her fingers and she blasts it straight at Cinder. Cinder flies past the red lightning bolt and continues to attack her.

Death is the first to attack, firing the black lightning from Ferrum Arctus straight at his enemies. They all scatter and charge towards them. Qrow sprints at Death, yelling with anger and jumping straight at him, striking his black blade with his sword with all his might. The impact creates a deafening bang and he keeps on attacking, Qrow slashes across his armour but the darkness just repairs it immediately. Qrow grits his teeth with anger as he fights, but Ruby has come to help as well, darting towards the Knight of Death to slash him with Crescent Rose. Death spins round and he extends his wings, launching Fatal Feathers at her. She darts into Petal Form and manages to avoid them, spinning round and transforming back into her human form, bringing the scythe down onto his arm. She slices the arm off, but the smoke reattaches it before it could fall off. Death grabs Ruby by her throat and then throws her across the room.

Ruby slams the scythe down into the ground to slow down, and while she does that she pulls the trigger of her sniper rifle, firing bullets straight at Death. Death deflects them with great agility with his sword and then turns fast to stop the blade of Qrow’s from even touching him. He scrapes Ferrum Arctus across his sword and then kicks him in the chest. Kragen jumps in past Qrow and he smacks his staff charged with Silver Eyed power across Death’s helmet, making him stagger back. Death growls and the plates of metal that cover his head pull back in the darkness, revealing his burning skull inside. The skull roars demonically at Kragen, the eyes glow bright red as he fights so fast and aggressively.

Death swings Ferrum Arctus upwards and impacts the staff, throwing Kragen high in the air.

Ruby turns her head and sees her team are challenging Fear again; he is swinging his scythe extremely fast at them, Weiss bounces around him by using her glyphs to keep moving. He points at her and forms the same sort of Crows that serve the Leshen, since the Lord of the Wood serves him as one of his soldiers. Blake’s eyes widen and she gasps, rolling out of the path of the cawing Crows, and Sun stands there, spinning Ruyi Jingu Bang round extremely fast to stop them from getting close enough. He rushes towards Fear and slams his staff against the back of the Knight’s leg to make his knee bend slightly, then he swings straight up and hits his chin, making the Knight grunt. Fear growls and he grabs Sun by the face, pulling him from the floor and he slams him straight into the ground. He then kicks him up in the air and spins round to kick him in the side in mid-air, sending him flying.

Ruby grits her teeth with anger and she sprints towards Fear, transforming into Petals as she flies towards him. But when time slows, her petal form slows as well, and Oscar sprints with her petal dash towards Fear. He runs under her Petal form and jumps right at Fear. He pulls his fist back and delivers a hard punch right into his head; he recoils back with a bark and falls back slightly. Ruby forms and slashes right across his chest and he roars with pain as smoke pours from his form, he grits his teeth and swings with Formido Falcem. Yang grits her teeth and she catches the Scythe with her Cybernetic hand and then punches him straight in the chest whilst firing Ember Celica into him.

Coco pulls the triggers all the way back on her Chaingun as she shoots at Loss, who is sprinting at great speeds around her to dodge the bullets. She then throws herself at Coco so hard it knocks the girl off her feet. She sighs with annoyance, and retracts her Chaingun back into its handbag form, swinging round and striking the Knight across the face. Loss snarls and Coco kicks her in the lower belly to make her recoil as she brings the bag up into her jaw. Hazel roars as he swings his Dagger right at her but Loss ducks down and grabs his muscular arm and pushes down forcefully with her foot, throwing the man over her shoulder, despite his much bigger size it seems to be no problem for her. She picks her Tonfas back up and brings them down towards him, but he rolls out of the way at the perfect moment, the blades stab into the ground just as he moves.

Jaune runs at Loss and slams his shield against her side to push her, she may be the smallest of the Knights, but she is still taller than Jaune is. Only a little bit smaller than Hazel is, in fact, she is pushed back across the floor and she stares at him, her eyes glow bright blue behind her veil of shadows. She then rolls across his shield and then lands behind him, kicking him in the back with force. Jaune yelps, thrown back and slamming against the wall, he looks at her and he sighs. “Why do I always get my butt kicked by Girls?” He groans, standing back up after picking Crocea Mors back up.

Cinder flies towards Salem, Nora helping as well as she jumps and Cinder catches her hand. Cinder builds up the crazed girl’s momentum up and she throws her towards Salem. Nora guffaws as she blasts at Salem, hammer over her head. Salem’s eyes widen and Nora smashes Salem from where she has been floating the whole time, knocking her off and crashing down onto the ground beside them. The Relics remain orbiting where she was once at, sparks of lightning still bolt out from the Relics. Salem turns and begins to use her Telekinesis to good use, lifting rocks from the ground and throwing them straight at Nora. Nora shatters one of them with Magnhild. “Yeah!” Nora cheers, until a second one cuts her off and she is thrown back from the impact.

Cinder yells as she flies right at Salem and slams into her side. Salem grabs the girl by her long black hair and throws her across the room, charging the red lightning through the black veins she has across her body. She blasts the red energy straight at her and she keeps on moving, deflecting it with her Fall Maiden Powers. Her dress glows orange as she forms dust from her ring and launches it all directly at Salem. Salem creates a shroud of shadows around her body that makes the glass completely vaporise upon contact and she darts towards Cinder. She slashes with her hands at her, her nails extend into claws and her eyes glow bright red as she fights. The bladed nails slice across her aura and Cinder throws herself backwards to avoid the monstrous Salem’s claws.

Death strikes at Qrow over and over again with Ferrum Arctus, he and Kragen have made what appears to be no damage to him. Ren sprints over to assist, firing Stormflower at the armoured monster but the bullets also have no effect. Death charges the black lightning across his blade and then spins around, creating a line of dark energy that knocks Kragen and Ren back onto the floor. Qrow stands back up and he swings at Death with even more strength. He stands there and he looks at Death, then at something he remembers.

His eyes widen after realising.

When he fought Death back at Mistral, he stood underneath a lamppost and he was able to do damage to him when he was underneath it. Light stops his regenerating abilities somehow...He looks around and then he sees the Spotlights that are still online and can be turned if somebody can get to them. Velvet and Yatsuhashi have been helping Coco and Hazel fight Loss as she slashes at them with those Tonfas. Yatsuhashi roars as he holds his sword above his head and brings it down at Loss, only just missing her when she rolls backwards. “Velvet!” Qrow yells, before getting kicked in the chest by the Knight of Death.

Velvet gasps upon hearing her name and she turns to see Qrow standing back up as Kragen sprints at Death, thwacking his staff against the Knight’s head. Her eyes are wide when she sees Qrow looking at her. He points with his sword at the Spotlight that is the easiest to get to, just takes some skilled climbing is all, something she is luckily quite good at. “The Spotlight! Shine it on Death! We may be able to beat him that way!” Qrow calls, blocking the attack from Death as he swings at him with a roar. Velvet’s brown eyes look up to the Spotlight and then she looks at Qrow again. She smiles and nods, running towards the rocks that she needs to climb across to get up there.

Neptune stabs Trishula into Fear’s ribs and his hair glows brighter as he channels electricity through his body and into the metal. Fear howls with pain as the electricity cooks inside of his undead body, his body shaking erratically as he stands there. Weiss yells, launching straight for Fear and she stabs him right through the temple. The blade of Myrtenaster punctures through the skull and sticks out the other side, but it has no effect on him other than he laughs at her. “Nice try!” Fear laughs, grabbing Neptune and ripping him from his weapon and smashing him into a rock, before he grabs her by hair and throws her onto the same rock. Weiss groans with pain, but she cannot lay there forever, her eyes widen when she sees him jumping towards her with his wings extended, about to stab Formido Falcem into her heart.

Yang leaps at Fear and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him back with all her might and he releases the Scythe, it lands right next to Weiss’ head, shocking her from how close it was to hitting her. Yang yells with anger as she fires Ember Celica over and over again into his neck to try and do as much damage to him as she can. He staggers back and she grabs his head with her cybernetic hand and she pulls back as hard as she can. Kassius sprints at Fear and stabs both blades into his ribs and he pushes him with Yang to help her take him down. She screams as she pushes his head straight down, snapping the spine and causing his head to hang back by strands of skin that are still connected to the rest of his body. She pushes her foot against his back and jumps away from him, landing on both feet. Kassius rips Lash Equinox from his chest and he jumps into the air and slashes both of his arms off and then lands beside Yang. Fear stands there, supposedly he should be death.

Until they notice that is arms are still active, and as if it is from some sort of horror movie, the hands crawl across the floor and return to his body. They climb up his body and then the shoulders return to where they should be on the body. The bones fuse back together and the muscles interlink with one another as well. The arms crunch as he moves them, and then he reaches back to his head and grabs his own skull, pulling it back up and reattaching it to his head. He cracks his neck and he stares at them with a smirk. “Not bad...” He admits, twisting his neck as he looks at her, he then holds his hand out and his fingers stretch and they wrap around his Scythe and he pulls it back to his hand and his body. He slams it down and draws his Crossbow in one hand and points it at them. He winks as he smirks. “But not good enough.” Fear states with that cruel smile on his face.

“You talk too much, Fear!” Ruby yells, jumping at him and stabbing Crescent Rose into his back and pulling him back, and Oscar sprints back and jumps straight at Fear and punches him in the head. He staggers away and he growls with anger, holding Formido Falcem behind his back when he focuses on them. His eyes glow bright gold and his body begins to move in an unnatural way. He creates a horrific howl as his jaw hangs far lower than it naturally should do, and he suddenly bolts towards them, zigzagging as he slashes at them and knocks them all onto the floor. He decelerates and stands where they fell, smiling as always as he stands above them.

He aims his Crossbow at Blake and he launches an arrow.

The arrow lodges right into her eye socket and she gasps with pain, her body becomes ridged, blood leaks from her punctured eye. Fear smirks as her body falls forward.

Until her body vanishes.

His eyes widen and Blake yells as she jumps at him from behind, managing to trick the trickster and she slashes him across the face with Gambol Shroud. He staggers back and straight into the fist of Yang and Kassius who both hit him with their cybernetic fists.

Yatsuhashi roars as he swings towards her with his sword, Loss ducks down and she punches him in the gut, making the huge man grunt. But he grabs her by the neck with his other hand and swings round with all his might and throws her into the wall. Hazel punches her as she flies towards him and knocks her onto the ground. She looks up at him and grits her teeth behind the veil she wears, she swipes her leg across Hazel’s and when he falls she punches him down into the floor, creating one loud crack from the impact. She draws her bow and aims it straight at Yatsuhashi and she releases the arrow. He lifts his sword up and the arrow snaps when bouncing off his bronze sword. Loss’ attention is caught though, when she spots Velvet in the corner of her eye as she climbs up the side of the rocks to get to the Spotlight that she aims to use against Death. Her eyes widen and she forms a second arrow and aims it right at her. Fox’s eyes widen and he sprints at Loss and tackles her into the floor just as she fires, the arrow shoots just through Velvet’s long brown hair, making her gasp with shock from how close that was.

Loss slams her elbow into Fox’s face to make him release her and then she stands back up, picking her Bow up and snapping it in two so then they are in their Tonfa Form. She spins round and slashes at Fox, but he deflects her Tonfa with his red one. He has to keep blocking with his blades to stop her from getting him with her own ones. Sparks erupt from every single impact as she advances on him. She kicks him across the head and he grunts with pain, she then slashes across his aura. Coco yells at her, aiming her Chaingun at Loss. “Hey!” Coco yells, but Loss turns and she senses something in Coco that she knows she can use against the headstrong girl. She stares at her and then pulls the veil back, Hazel’s eyes widen and he fails to warn her in time.

“Don’t look into her eyes!” He warns, but Coco gasps and feels the tears leak from her eyes as she sees the large blue eyes meeting her coffee coloured ones. She whimpers with sorry when Loss transforms into something else as she stands there. A younger but just as beautiful girl, looks very similar to Coco appears with gentle coffee coloured eyes. She looks at Coco and she falls to her knees with anguish.

“Jasmine...” She gasps with sadness when she sees her.

Jasmine Adel, Coco’s baby sister. She lost her sister when she was trying to help her from some Grimm, but a pack of Beowulves attacked her sister and killed her right in front of her eyes. It still breaks her heart to see her little sister’s face, because she could not save her life. It is also why she is so determined to save the lives of other people, to hope she can fill that hole in her life she never had. Yatsuhashi looks at her with confused eyes. “Coco?” He asks her with concern.

“It’s Loss!” Hazel yells, drawing his blade. “She can create hallucinations when she makes someone look into her eyes! Make you see the things that make you crumple with sadness!” Hazel explains to Yatsuhashi, and something makes him even angrier than before. He cares deeply for Coco, that much is clear. He stares at Loss with anger, knowing she is torturing her this way for no other reason. He clutches onto his sword tight and he sprints at Loss.

“Leave her alone!” Yatsuhashi roars as he slashes across Loss’ chest, knocking her back, Hazel thrusts forward and stabs her through the back and lifts her into the air. He roars as he slams her down to the floor. Loss presses her hand against the floor as she gets back up, her wounds slowly healing back up, but Yatsuhashi attacks again, swinging his sword straight at her and knocking her back again when he impacts his sword against her. Fox charges at Loss as well, leaping towards her and punching her in the back as Yatsuhashi slices her with his bronze blade.

Coco remains on her knees in a frozen state, tears drip from her eyes and she still sees her little sister walking towards her. Jasmine smiles, caressing Coco’s cheek with her hand as she stands there. “It’s okay, Coco...” Jasmine whispers to her, and Coco sniffles as she looks at her sister.

“I’m so – so sorry.” Coco weeps. “I...I failed you.” Coco sniffs. Jasmine caresses her cheek with a smile as she looks at her with that smile of hers. Very similar to the one that Coco has in fact. Jasmine looks at her glasses, and it seems like she picks them up for her and puts them in her hands, but that is not in fact Jasmine.

It is Jaune who is putting the Glasses in her hands. “You can do this.” She says, her voice transforming into Jaune’s and then the hallucination fades and then she gasps when she sees Jaune crouched down before her. She then looks at the glasses and then at him, he smiles and he nods, because he has been on the receiving end of Loss’ powers before as well. She sniffs and brings her courage back, wiping the tear from her eye, and standing back up. She puts her Sunglasses back on and she holds her Chaingun tight.

Loss kicks Yatsuhashi in the head and she aims her Bow at Velvet again and fires, launching an arrow straight towards her. Velvet reaches up and the arrow pierces through her aura and into her calf. She wails with agony from the feeling of that arrowhead breaking the skin and puncturing through the muscles in her leg. Tears weep from her eyes and she cries out, holding onto the rocks as best as she can. She keeps on climbing however, and the action makes Yatsuhashi and Fox go berserk, fighting harder and harder as she lowers the bow.

Fox jumps at her and he punches down the back of her head and then uppercuts her with his other fist.

Coco’s eyes widen with concern when she heard Velvet’s cry of pain.

Her eyes narrow with anger.

“Alright – I don’t like her.” Coco snarls as she activates the barrels. “Hey bitch!” Coco shouts, enraged with the cruel hallucination that Loss placed on her. And for hurting precious little Velvet. Loss has yet again gained the upper hand against Yatsuhashi, Hazel and Fox, jumping in the air and kicking Yatsuhashi up the jaw. She spins round and slashes Fox and Hazel across the chest to knock them over. She turns and her eyes widen behind the veil. “Kiss this.” She snarls, firing all the barrels at once.

The bullets impact her and they pin her against the wall as she shoots her over and over again, gritted teeth constantly.

Death swings his sword at Qrow and their blades impact harder and harder, the louder bangs echo further across the cavern, sparks flashing between them as they fight one another. Death is the one advancing against Qrow right now, Ren and Kragen are still getting back, but it seems that Qrow wants this fight all to himself. Qrow steps back and watches Death’s every move, and he immediately swings towards Qrow and he blocks with his sword, every single one he keeps on parrying but his counter attacks mean nothing against him.

Death and Qrow slam their swords against each other and they forcefully push against each other, staring at one another, locked in this moment. Qrow grits his teeth with anger as he pushes against Death’s strength, and just like Mistral, Death is pushing him down towards the ground. Death glares at him as he starts to win, but Qrow breathes deep and then he pushes against the blade and something happens.

He stands back up slowly, pushing harder against Ferrum Arctus and it seems to actually surprise Death, he looks at how Qrow is managing this with confusion. Death glares at Qrow and then he speaks from behind the helmet. “Why do you keep fighting for a world already lost?” Death snarls with anger. “This world is over! Nothing will stop that from changing!” He roars. “I killed your beloved Summer Rose; I took the eye of your dear Daughter.” He says coldly, and Ruby’s eye widens, she slowly turns her head when she hears Death say that with shock.

She looks at Death and Qrow, unable to unheard what was just said. “You have nothing left!” Death snarls. Qrow’s eyes widen with anger.

“ _I_ have nothing left?” He shouts, twisting his sword round Ferrum Arctus and slashing up the side of Death’s head. A deep gash is given to his head, but the shadows immediately repair the damage. “I know who _you_ are Death! What you’ve done!” He yells. Death swings at Qrow and he keeps on backing up from the Knight.

Death swings harder and Qrow keeps on taunting him as he fights. “Your name is Krekras Blackridge!” Qrow begins as he fights him. “You were a Vanguard! A hero!” Qrow shouts, harder and more aggressive this time.

Velvet clambers up there and she just manages to get up there, grabbing onto the Spotlight and she moves it. Her keeps her hand on her calf where the arrow is still lodged, pulling herself up there. She holds onto the Spotlight.

Qrow keeps on striking Ferrum Arctus with his sword, and Death keeps on advancing. “Look at yourself! And you claim I have nothing left? You are nothing like the man you used to be!” He roars.

Velvet turns the Spotlight onto Death, and Death has a painful reaction to it. He swung at Qrow, but then the light impacts him and Death roars with pain from the light that shines upon his shadows. He staggers back, shielding his head with his hand and then he looks at his hand with fear as he sees the darkness receding on his armoured hand, revealing the weakened Isomacium underneath. The strength has been sacrificed by the darkness that would regenerate the damage.

Meaning they can now do some damage to Death.

Death creates a pained groan as he looks at his hand.

Qrow shouts, swinging across Death’s chest and the metal slices open and no shadows repair the damage. He goes for a second attack but Death grabs him and throws him onto the floor. Qrow slides across the ground, but swiftly gets back up, watching as Death staggers around, trying to avoid the light that weakens him, and Velvet keeps on aiming the Spotlight on the Knight of Death. Qrow goes to attack and Death still swings at him and hits the blade, keeping his other hand up to shield the light that shines on him. Qrow however has now got the advantage.

He jumps at him and slashes across his arm and then across his chest, over and over again to do as much damage as he can. Death’s grunts become more and more enflamed with rage as he staggers back, becoming feral growls. The metal plates slide back across his head and the burning Skull roars at Qrow as Death starts to move at impossibly fast speeds. He slashes over and over again at Qrow, and he deflects the sword attacks from Death with his own sword as Death pins him into the statue that holds the Relics. Qrow transforms into his Crow form to escape Death and returns behind him. Death slashes through the leg of the Statue and he immediately goes to attack Qrow.

He is making mistakes, just striking at the air now, no longer trying to shield himself from the light, his eyes have become accustomed to it, but he is still susceptible to damage. And yet he is still extremely dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than he was before. Qrow keeps on guarding himself with the sword he carries, waiting for the opportunity to jab him with the blade of his sword, sparks erupt from the weakened Isomacium and he slashes across the Knight’s closed helmet and he snarls with anger.

Death staggers back and stares at Qrow.

“You’re the one with nothing left!” Qrow roars. Qrow’s sword folds down and the barrel of his cannon inside points straight at Death’s chest. He yells as he fires it and Death is flown backwards from the impact, roaring as he falls back.

Ruby watches and she smiles as she realises that they are gaining the upper hand against the Knights. Fear yells as he jumps at Ruby and brings the Scythe down towards her, she darts aside and narrowly avoids it. Ren sprints over to them and he jumps onto Fear’s back, stabbing the blades of Stormflower into his shoulder blades, pulling back with all his strength. Kragen rushes in as well and slams his Staff across the head of Fear, but Fear howls as he spins his Scythe through his fingers, building up the Fear Toxin and slamming the Scythe down with force.

The cloud of gas erupts and Blake jumps into the air, same as Sun does. Sun clasps his hands together and sends his Via Sun forms rushing over to Fear, they throw themselves into his much taller body and they hold him in place. Sun nods at Blake and she nods back, landing on a rock and Yang stands there, nodding to her. She throws her grappling hook to Yang and she sprints, just like they did when they were in the Vytal Tournament and when they fought Roman Torchwick in the highway. Blake strains as she throws Yang towards Fear. Fear struggles to free himself from the restraint of the two Via Sun that hold him there, growling with anger. He looks ahead, and his golden eyes widen with disbelief when Blake throws her towards him. Yang yells, swinging her Cybernetic Fist straight into his face, so hard it throws him backwards and he tumbles.

Some of them were affected by the Gas, however, since they did not jump away from it. Ruby is amongst them, and she looks around with confusion as the area transforms before her very eyes. The ground shatters into fragments that form into titanic Charred Trees that dwarf her. Her eye widens with disbelief when she sees the huge trees, the screeches of pain and the Nuckelavee’s roars that echo. She then sees her foe there, but it is not Fear.

In the form of Roman Torchwick. “Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood! Wanna play?” He asks her with a smirk, letting Melodic Cudgel swing round his finger, tilting his hat to her. Ruby holds Crescent Rose in her hands as she stands there, staring at Torchwick as he glares at her.

Weiss on the other hand stands up, and her Fear Environment is different, she sees her father standing up after being knocked over. He glares at but she does not yet realise that it is just Fear, appearing as her fear.

Neptune stands on the rocks that are above where the gas is, it will not last forever, they know this. Yang gasps, and she sees that Kassius is down there as well.

Kassius stumbles around, seeing that he is in his old house. He holds Lash Equinox in his hands, and his eyes widen when he sees the coat hanger and the coats transform. “There was once a Crooked Man!” The demonic voice of Mr Hyde speaks, it seems that the Fear Gas turns Hyde into his pure evil form, unlike the Flawed Being that he truly is. The monster he would see in his nightmares when he was a child. He holds his cane in one hand and walks towards him, bones cracking as he moves, head twitching constantly. He suddenly rushes towards Kassius, and he crosses his swords when Hyde attacks, smashing him in the chest with the Cane. Kassius is thrown back from the impact.

Ruby flies back, from a similar impact that Torchwick hit her with. Little do the three of them realise that Fear actually struck them all in one hit, but they are all seeing something different entirely. She was shot in the chest by Melodic Cudgel, and Roman chuckles menacingly as he stands there. Ruby groans with pain, her hand pressed to her head, and she stares at Roman. Even in the afterlife, she still needs to fight him.

Weiss saw something else, she saw her father striking her and she hit the floor, she whimpers with pain, her hand touching the red handprint on her cheek. “What a disappointment you are, you are no Schnee.” Jacques snarls as he glares at her. Weiss narrows her eyes and she picks up her dust Crystal that fell from her belt and she covers Myrtenaster with the red dust. She yells as she swings it and the fire blasts into him.

He bursts into crows, and she frees herself from her Nightmare Environment, the Schnee Manor collapses around her and she stands back up, seeing Fear stood where he was stood, fire burning on his shoulders.

When Kassius sees Mr Hyde stood there, the clothes that he wears have fire burning on it in places as he walks around, keeping his glowing red eyes on him. “Come on! Let me take control for a bit, dear old Kassius?” Hyde asks Kassius as he walks around Kassius, using his Walking Cane as he walks around him. Kassius glares at the Demonic Being with anger in his eyes.

“Never thought I’d say it – but this is not you, Hyde! It’s his gas, bringing out the worst in you!” Kassius shouts to his Alternate Personality and Hyde laughs.

“I know! Isn’t it fantastic?” He laughs maniacally and Kassius sighs.

“So what now?” Kassius asks.

“Hmm? Why don’t we start with you letting me take over your body?” Hyde asks him.

“So you can kill my friends?” Kassius questions.

“Of course not!” He lies as he walks, still being manipulated by the Fear Gas. Kassius clenches his hands into fists as he stands there.

“Come on Red!” Torchwick laughs, aiming Melodic Cudgel at Ruby as he paces around her. Ruby scowls as she holds Crescent Rose tight, walking amongst the Charred Trees in the mysterious forest that haunts her mind.

“Get out of my head, Torchwick!” She demands.

“Don’t make me beg! Let me have a go at using that Scythe of yours! It’s awesome!” Roman giggles as he looks at it.

“What’s so bad about that Cane of yours?” Ruby scoffs.

“Oh this?” Roman chuckles, looking at Melodic Cudgel. “Oh I absolutely adore Melodic Cudgel! But didn’t you say it is so much fun seeing other weapons than just your own?” Roman states, remembering Ruby’s personal memories with that menacing smirk of his. Ruby grits her teeth and she leaps at Roman, and Kassius jumps at Hyde.

Fear smirks and he swings round with Formido Falcem and knocks them both out of the air before they can get to him. They look around as their fear environments crumble away and they return back to the real world. Hands pressed against their heads after the ordeal is over and the gas has faded away from them. Fear spins Formido Falcem round and slams it down with a smirk.

Oscar looks at Fear with confusion, and he is waiting for them to make their next move, pacing back and forth as he stares at them all. “Nothing’s working!” Blake claims.

Neptune looks across the way and his eyes widen when a mad idea appears on him. He sees Nora helping Cinder fight Salem, Salem is still blasting red lightning bolts at them where she floats. Cinder channels the power of lightning itself across her body, just like how Amber used to when they fought her. She also ignites the flames in her hand and then blasts them into Salem’s shoulder. Salem pushes her shoulder into it as she throws herself into Cinder. Salem grabs Cinder by the neck and slams her into the ground with force. She slams her fist down into the ground where she was laying, frost left behind where she punched and then she charges more of that cursed lightning at her again.

The red lightning bolt explodes against the ground, only just missing her and Cinder dives forward, rolling out of its way. She then blasts flames straight towards Salem but Salem floats up and uses her telekinesis to rip the rocks from the ground, throwing them at her. Her eyes are constantly glowing red as she does these things. Salem even forms many of the fiery eyes under where Cinder is. Cinder flies into the air as the eyes screech and explode beneath her, only just avoiding them. She flies straight towards Salem with her blades forming in her hands. Cinder slashes straight at Salem and her aura is so strong that it seems to have no effect whatsoever. Cinder lands behind her and Salem stares at her, and she does something that is very chilling.

She touches the stone in her forehead and black energy begins to form around it. Her eyes glow bright red and Salem yells with rage, blasting a thick black beam of darkness towards Cinder. Her eyes widen with shock and she dodges the beam just before it hit her, seeing it completely destroy the ground they were stood on. The ground ignites with black flames; the darkness consumes the ground before it all decays to nothing. Cinder then looks at Salem again and she flies straight at Salem and grabs her, they both fly towards the ceiling and she pins her against the top with a loud bang.

Cracks spread like the plague, chunks of stone plummet down from the Cavern’s ceiling and Cinder goes to punch her but Salem catches her fist before she could strike her.

Nora watches the two powerful people fighting it out up there, and she hears Neptune calling out to her. She notices that they are on those rocks and Fear is stood right there. All she sees Neptune do is click his fingers; electrical sparks go off in his fingers. Nora instantly catches on and she smirks, nodding.

Yang and Blake jump at Fear, whilst Oscar uses his Time Abilities to attack the Knight as best as he can. They need to keep him occupied until Neptune’s plan is completed. Yang jumps high above Fear and she winks at him, as if her hair is glowing, she falls towards him and punches him in the head extremely hard. The impact creates one powerful shockwave and he nearly collapses. Blake throws her Grappling Hook into the brick and swings round towards Fear, wedging Gambol Shroud into the side of his head.

Fear snarls with annoyance and rips the blade from his head and kicks her in the chest. He laughs cruelly as he watches her fall to the ground in pain. Sun leaps at Fear and slams Ruyi Jingu Bang against his head, hitting him over and over again in the head. Fear grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the floor as he stares at him. He then throws him across the room once more.

Nora lands next to Neptune and she looks at him. “Didn’t know that was your semblance!” Nora squeaks.

“Yeah, never got round to showing it off in the Vytal Tournament.” He explains with a chuckle. Sun looks at Neptune as he is about to charge Nora’s Semblance up to the maximum.

“Wait! We’re on a Volcanic Network, remember? If Fury exploding didn’t destabilize it, she will!” Sun warns.

“Then let’s get those Relics fast!” Neptune says, blasting the lightning from his body and into Nora. She grunts at first, but she seems to like the more power she feels channelling into her muscles.

“Oh...Yeah!” Nora shrieks with excitement as Neptune keeps on blasting lightning into her. Her eyes glow brighter and brighter along with her pink aura that surrounds her. She grabs Magnhild tight as the pink dust glows bright as well. Neptune lets her go; nearly collapsing from how long he used his full Semblance for.

She leaps high in the air and Fear slowly turns round as he sees the glowing ball of pink aura flying towards him. A strange supersonic cheering sound accompanies it. “Yee-Haw!” Nora cheers as she holds her hammer above her head with a crazed look in her eyes. Fear looks at her and he swallows deeply.

“Ooh...this is gonna hurt.” He says, looking straight at her as she slams her hammer down onto his head.

What follows is an almighty pink explosion that reduces Fear’s form to dust. The explosion sends cracks across the entire cavern, shattering entire buildings that are inside. The shockwave gets all of their attention as they all turn with shock at the powerful blast that just completely and utterly obliterated Fear’s body.

That’s the Knight of Fear out of the equation.

 

**Glynda**

Glynda blasts a Beowulf and kills it instantly. But then they feel the quake of Nora destroying Fear’s form and she holds out her arms to steady her balance. “Whoa...” Taiyang exclaims as he looks around. More rumbles are going off, but the others inside do not take notice, they are too busy with getting the Relics.

Glynda looks at one of the distant islands and she gasps.

One of the Volcanoes has just erupted because of their efforts, meaning the others are about to as well. Her eyes widen. “Oh no...” She gasps, watching fearfully as the orange lave and ash clouds rise from the cone.

“Whatever they’re doing in there, they better do it fast.” The Architect says, aiming his rifle and firing it. Winter nods and she summons her Glyph Beowulves to help hold the entrance.

They are running out of time.

 

**Ruby**

Salem blasts red lightning into Cinder’s chest and she plummets back down to the ground with a bang. She groans with pain, her aura fades after Salem beat her in that battle. She reaches out and tries to crawl away, until Salem and Loss arrive to the Statue with Death as well, Velvet is still keeping the Spotlight on Death so then they can take him down. Salem grits her teeth and she looks at the Relic. “Protect me long enough to activate the Relics.” She orders as she floats back up to them.

Death spins Ferrum Arctus through his fingers and Loss draws her Bow. She aims at Cinder, but the wounded girl blasts flames into her and she staggers back. Cinder rolls off the platform and falls to the others. Yatsuhashi rolls across the ground and pulls her back from them. “Nice work, Cinder!” He congratulates, holding his sword in one hand. The others return and they all rush to the centre to stop Salem.

Kragen looks at Ruby as he holds his staff. “Ruby! You’re the strongest Silver Eyed Warrior we have here! You need to get those Relics!” He orders, and they all sprint towards the two Knights. Coco fires at them with her Chaingun, yelling as she does it. Oscar runs with Ruby to get to the centre. Ruby turns and sees Yatsuhashi running past her with his sword in one hand as he runs towards the Knights of Death and Loss, Coco runs with him. The Spotlight shines on them all.

“Come on Ruby! Follow me!” Yatsuhashi calls. Ruby keeps her head down and Oscar helps by protecting her. Ruby sees Salem above with the Relics charging up in her hands.

“There! We need to get Salem away from the Relics and grab them!” Oscar tells her as he points at where Salem is. Ruby looks at Yatsuhashi and Coco as they sprint towards the Knight of Death.

“Grab the Relics, Ruby!” Yatsuhashi roars, jumping at Death and tackling him over as Coco jumps and wraps her legs around Death’s neck as they fall. She rolls off and aims her Chaingun at him as Death throws the muscular man off. Loss runs and jumps onto a destroyed statue and aims her bow at Ruby as she runs. She launches an arrow and it misses her by an inch.

“Leave her alone!” Nora yells as she jumps at Loss and whacks her with Magnhild. Ruby keeps on running as fast as she can, ignoring the two Knights as they fight their friends.

 

**Adam**

Adam realises with the others that the Volcanic Core is destabilising, all of the Volcanoes across the island are erupting. Taiyang patches through to Qrow as they are fighting the Knights. “Qrow! We have to evacuate! The Volcanoes are erupting!” Taiyang calls, but all he hears is conflict on the other side of his Scroll.

He looks at Raven with a concerned look. Adam stands tall and then he turns to all the soldiers, patching through to their fleet. “This may be our only window! All units! Full retreat!” He orders to them all. The soldiers all begin their retreat, even the Huntsmen realise that soon the Volcano that this Island is built on top of is about to go off as well.

Only a matter of time.

All the trucks begin to pull out, Bullheads fly over to their position and they pick up the Huntsmen and Huntresses that were defending the Entrance. “When we can find a way in, we go for the rest of them!” Taiyang orders as he holds onto the side.

Glynda looks back and then gets aboard the Bullhead that has come to pick them up. Zwei whimpers as he sits with Taiyang and Raven.

 

**Ruby**

 

Death swings Ferrum Arctus at Coco as she stands her and he takes her hat off her head with the blade as he swings it. He then holds the sword above his head and he roars, bringing it down towards her bare head to split her skull in two. Oscar sees and his eyes widen, he jumps in the air and throws a Time Bubble onto Death to stop him in his tracks. “Stop the time!” Oscar calls out, creating his own catchphrase as he catches Death in the moment. Death freezes in that point of time, the sword stopped right above her head.

Coco turns around and backs up from the blade and aims her Chaingun at him. The barrels spin round and she starts to fire into the bubble, hundreds of bullets caught in one moment. “Gonna blow your head off, Death!” Coco yells, firing constantly into the bubble. “Chew on this, knucklehead!” Coco taunts.

The bubble bursts and all of the bullets impact his chest in one attack. Death grunts with pain, chunks of weakened Isomacium snap and shatter from his armour and he is thrown backwards, his back crashes into the statue and he slams against the floor. He stabs Ferrum Arctus into the ground whilst Coco keeps on shooting her Chaingun at him, making him shed tonnes of armour over and over again.

Black Lightning charges across the blade of Ferrum Arctus and Death roars, aiming the sword at her and firing the Lightning at her. Coco jumps and rolls out of the way, only narrowly escaping the attack as it burns a hole straight through the stone wall. Loss swings her blades at Fox as he tackles her into the ground again, Ruby keeps on running to get to Salem and the Relics while she still can. Blake sprints towards Death from behind and she jumps at him, he looks over his shoulder, and she stabs Gambol Shroud into his shoulder, puncturing the metal. Death roars with anger as he staggers from the impact.

Salem is so close.

The lightning sparks more aggressively and more frequently, and despite the earthquakes, none of them seem to have even noticed the fact that the Volcanoes are erupting. Salem’s desperation may get her killed.

She then clocks onto the fact that Ruby is coming for the Relics. “Death! Kill her!” Salem demands, and the Knight of Death snarls with anger as he grabs Blake by her long black hair and throws her from his back and onto the ground with force. He aims Ferrum Arctus at her and goes to kill her with the black lightning that channels through the blade. A crow flies towards Death and transforms into Qrow, as he yells and cuts Death’s arm from his elbow that held Ferrum Arctus. Death grunts in pain as Qrow lands between him and Blake, and Qrow spins round to behead him with his sword, but Death catches his sword by the blade where he swung.

Ruby dashes up onto the statue and starts to make the climb after Salem as she reaches for the Relics. Loss battles against Jaune as she slashes her blades across his shield and he smashes her in the head to make her stagger.

Death keeps on holding Qrow’s sword there by the blade. Death yells and slams his head into Qrow’s to make him fall down, forcing him down onto his back with his superior strength. Death pushes the blade and down presses his armoured boot against Qrow’s chest. He then slams the blade against his neck, pinning him against the floor. Death slowly glares at him and the helmet peels back. “I will claim their souls...every last one.” Death promises coldly, the fire burning around the skull as it speaks.

“Maybe...” Qrow replies.

“But not today.” Qrow continues, kicking Death in the back and the Knight releases his sword as he falls over him. Qrow picks up Ferrum Arctus and glares at the Knight. “Hey! You dropped this!” He yells, throwing the sword straight at Death and the blade sinks directly into his chest. The impact takes Death off the ground and sends him flying through the wall.

The wall shatters like glass, and he falls into something.

The Volcanic Core is directly beneath them and he falls into it.

As the Volcano erupts.

Death’s body is completely obliterated in the eruption, leaving nothing left. The explosion of the core throws them all onto their backs, even into the air as the shockwave shatters the Cavern, knocking every building down. Ruby screams as she holds onto the statue for her life, whilst Salem is still desperately trying to activate the Relics. The eruption pours lava into the room and they continue to fight inside.

Whilst in the air, Jaune is fighting Loss. He swings at her whilst they fall and he manages to slice her head from her shoulders, destroying her form as well. Her body falls into the lava to be consumed whilst the others begin to fall as well. The Mountain with the cavern inside has been blown into the sky, and they have all become weightless as the chunks move across the air, pyroclastic ash consuming the island. The Bullheads fly around them, and the one that holds Penny inside moves towards the cavern that is in the air right now.

Ruby is still holding on as best as she can, trying to climb up whilst Salem is powering up the Relics. “Going weightless!” Coco yells as she floats around in the freefalling chunk of the island. Yang floats and she gasps when she looks up and sees a bunch of Bullheads flying through the holes in the cavern to help them. They start to pick them all up. Velvet floats over to one of them and gets inside, along with the rest of Team C.F.V.Y. Cinder looks and sees Salem still trying and she grits her teeth, flying towards her where Ruby is.

Team J.N.R get picked up as Glynda grabs Jaune’s hand and pulls him inside, and Nora and Ren float inside. Qrow transforms into his Crow form and stays near to Ruby as she climbs up there. Sun and Neptune seem to be enjoying themselves as they float around inside the cavern. “It’s like a Vomit Comet!” Neptune laughs. The Bullhead with Winter inside flies over to the two idiots and she grabs Neptune’s hand.

“Get inside, you moron!” Winter orders, pulling him inside and Sun gets in as well. The rest of Team R.W.B.Y apart from Ruby herself get into the Bullhead with Raven and Taiyang, Zwei has been put in the cockpit with the pilot. Oscar is pulled in as well, whereas Hazel ends up in the Bullhead with Adam, landing in there with Kragen as well who is reunited with the Architect.

Kassius clambers across chunks of Debris to help Ruby, floating towards her and his sister, and where Salem is. Cinder flies straight for Salem where she is stationed. “Salem! Enough is enough!” Cinder yells as she launches a fireball at Salem which knocks her from the Relics. Salem yells with anger and she sees Cinder flying straight for her. Salem stops her with her telekinesis and glares at her with anger.

“You traitor!” Salem yells with anger, forming the red lightning in her palm.

“Yeah...I’m a traitor...” She admits. “But I left it for a better cause!” She shouts.

Ruby appears behind Salem and she aims Crescent Rose at Salem and she realises too late, as Ruby takes the shot. The bullet punctures her back and Salem is knocked away from the Relics. Salem shrieks demonically as she floats away, vanishing in a cloud of smoke and red lightning that flashes. “Gotcha.” Ruby says with a smirk.

She then looks at the Relics which still float there. She jumps for them and then catches them all. She grabs the Relics and then she begins to fall. She holds onto them as she falls towards the ground. “Ruby!” Cinder yells, but Ruby notices Kassius falling as well.

“Save your brother!” She orders. Cinder looks at her with confused eyes.

“Please...” Ruby begs her. Cinder, against her own wishes to save Ruby, nods and pursues her twin brother and catches him, carrying him away from the danger. Qrow chases after her but even he cannot save her from this.

Until the Bullhead with her team and Oscar begins to dive after her. “Hold on, Ruby! We’ve got you!” He calls as the Bullhead nose dives after her. He charges up a time bubble to protect her as she falls and he aims for her.

He throws the bubble and it activates upon touching her body. Ruby closes her eyes in acceptance when she thought she was gonna hit the ground, holding the three relics close to her chest. She remains in the bubble, thinking her end is near. The Bullhead descends towards Ruby and Yang reaches out with her hand. She holds her smaller body and pulls her into the Bullhead.

“We have her!” Blake calls to the pilot.

The Pilot pulls some incredible manoeuvres as he pulls up and the Crow chases after them. He transforms back to his human form and lands inside, holding onto the handles inside. He looks at Ruby with happiness, to see her safe and she looks at him with a smile. The Bullhead flies straight up towards the collapsing entrance that was in the Cavern the whole time.

The Bullhead makes it just as the Cavern crashes into the sea, and the Volcano continues to erupt. Ruby watches with amazement as the Volcanic Chain Isles disappears from the map as all of the Volcanoes erupt at once, polluting the sky with ash clouds and lava consumes the once green land and all the Grimm that were on it.

“What now?” Ruby asks sweetly.

Yang smiles, caressing her cheek.

“We go home.” Yang assures, a tear drops from her eye.


	52. Home

**Ruby**

Ruby lies in Yang’s arms as they fly across the sea, she is still weak after the whole ordeal, and she looks at Yang, her long golden hair blowing in the wind as they fly. Blake crouched down beside Yang and Weiss holds onto the side of the vessel as she looks at her. Oscar is sat there as well, with Taiyang and Raven as well. Ruby truly feels like this is all some sort of dream, because she never truly believed that she would be free of those monsters. And if it weren’t for Cinder’s change of heart, she may be dead right now. Tyrian would have killed her right then and there. “Yang...” Ruby quietly says, and Yang looks at her little sister as she looks up at her. “Is...this real?” She asks softly and Yang smiles, caressing her baby sister’s cheek with a kind smile.

“Yeah...It’s real.” She promises, and Ruby snuggles into her sister’s body as she holds her. In a way, Yang has been as much of a mother to Ruby as Summer was to them as well. Qrow holds onto the side of the ship, and Weiss looks at him with a raised eyebrow, he still looks back at where the islands once were. They have flown miles from the Volcanic Chain Isles, but the ash clouds from the eruption can still be seen.

“You alright?” Weiss asks him, and Qrow smiles as he looks at her.

“Yeah...you?” Qrow asks her and she smiles as well.

“Yeah...I think I am. It feels good, to actually win something.” Weiss explains to him with a smile, and Qrow chuckles. Qrow reaches into his jacket to take a drink from his flask and he pulls it out. But before he does, he just looks at the flask. The Knights have taught him something that he sees in himself. Everyone has a dark side, and certain things seem to bring them out. His alcohol issues can be the product of his, so he sighs and throws the flask into the sea.

“It does.” He agrees, watching as the flask falls and lands in the sea with a splash. Taiyang smiles, seeing him starting to move on from his alcohol issues, hopefully he can move on from more than just that.

“I mean – I know that we are not even close to being finished with this.” Weiss states, looking at Qrow and he looks at her. “The Knights are still out there, we never did help them find their closure, so we’ll be seeing them again, won’t we?” She asks him and Qrow just nods, holding his sword in his hand.

“It was nice to actually beat them, this time.” Qrow says to her, still looking out at the ocean. He is always expecting to see a Giant Nevermore, or an Undead Bat or a Burning Wyvern to be chasing them. But none of those appear, not even a tiny Mourning Dove; they must have reformed somewhere else to rebuild after their failure. He turns back and they look at the containers that they have put the relics in, not permanent ones since they are just tubs. Weiss looks at them as well and she looks at him.

“What will we do with the Relics? I mean...we can’t entrust them to the Kingdoms again, that’s how this all started in the first place.” Weiss says to him with a shrug. Taiyang stands up and he walks over to them.

“That Kragen Nox guy? He said he has an idea of where to keep them in hiding.” Taiyang explains to the two of them, hanging onto the ceiling of the Bullhead.

“Did he say where?” Weiss asks him.

“Something about a Fort.” Taiyang says, Qrow smiles and he looks at Weiss. The Stronghold of the Silver Eyed Warriors, a secure place to keep them.

“Atlas still has one.” Raven points out.

“Yeah, and with Weiss’ dad in charge over there right now...we can’t really hope for too much.” Taiyang states.

Aboard the Bullhead that carries team J.N.R, Jaune is gazing at his own shield longingly. He rubs his thumb across Pyrrha’s Crest symbol at the bottom of the shield; he still cannot believe that she is alive. Nora looks at him and she sits down beside him where he is on the vehicle. “She came back, you know?” Nora tells him, and his eyes widen and he gasps, looking at her with disbelief. “Yeah, I heard it from Glynda and the others who held the Entrance. That big Dinosaur Grimm? It took off Adam’s arm and was about to eat him, when she flew in, piloting a jet and attacked the thing.” She explains, and Jaune looks amazed, he then looks at Ren.

“I also heard she was the one that made the Acolytes of Lien pull out, she attacked the Drift of Wandering Star single-handedly.” Ren explains from what he heard as well. This seems to bolster his hopes to see her again even further; wide eyed he looks back to the shield. Tears drip from his eyes as he looks at his shield, holding it close.

“She remembered me...” Jaune tells them, tearfully as he thinks of her. As if he can see her face in the reflection of his shield. They both look at him when he says that. Glynda leans forward with her hand on her leg, looking at the young boy. She still remembers when he lost her, they were supposed to get her and the others to help Ozpin, but she went instead. “She saved my life...pulled me from the water.” Jaune remembers, wiping a tear from his eye with his arm.

Glynda smiles kindly to the boy. “We will find her, I promise.” Glynda assures.

“I hope so...she needs help.” Jaune says.

Cinder has landed inside of the Bullhead that Adam and Hazel are inside of, they look around and Kassius is sat down next to his twin sister. Hazel looks out at the land that gets closer as they leave the oceans behind, whereas a medic is helping patch up the damage to Adam’s arm as best he can. The blood has stopped oozing thanks to the ointments and the pressure on it that has stopped him from bleeding absolutely everywhere. He does not even grit his teeth as the guy patches him up, just remains still with his blind eyes looking around to push the pain away from his mind, listening the air whooshing past.

Hazel looks at his Dagger that he holds and he sighs, looking out at the land once more. He has something on his mind; in his hand is a necklace, one that Amber must have made when she was younger. He holds it tight and close to his chest, closing his eyes when he holds it there. Kassius looks at Cinder who has a few cuts and bruises on her face and body from her battle against Salem. He bumps her arm with his one and she looks at him. “I never did say.” Kassius says and Cinder raises an eyebrow. “You look a lot like Mom.” Kassius says with a smile, and Cinder smiles gently, looking down at the floor.

“I barely remember what she looks like...” She whispers, and Kassius looks at the sea again.

“Long black hair, amber eyes...the most beautiful woman I ever thought I’d ever see.” He chuckles, and she smiles, a tear drips from her eye and she wipes it away swiftly. Hoping that nobody saw it, Kassius saw it, but he does not wish to embarrass her. She has always been shy around friends, even if she can call everyone here her friends. Pyrrha and Penny might still be alive, but lots of good people still died at Beacon because of her actions. Kassius puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close to his side, she gasps when she actually feels someone being kind to her...something she has not actually felt since she thought she lost him. She rests her head on his shoulder and then immediately wraps her arms around her brother with a sniffle.

“I – I thought I lost you...when that Terror Bird attacked you.” Cinder stammers tearfully, Adam looks in the direction of what he can hear and there is a look of concern on his face. Hazel looks back slightly at her, she never told him she had a brother, but he always had the feeling she lost someone she loved. And wanted revenge for it deeply, that was why she wanted to be powerful.

“I would have been dead...If it weren’t for Yang’s father that saved me that day.” He tells her, and she gasps with shock, looking at him as she releases her brother. She can see the scars he has collected; one of the most recent was from her of course. “He managed to kill the damned thing before it started to eat me alive...I thought I was dead already...but then he pulled me from its body that fell onto me. Took me to his home...then I saw _her_.” Kassius explains to Cinder, and she looks at him. He clearly must have fallen in love with her right then and there when he saw little Yang. She was only fourteen, long blonde hair even then. “I thought I saw an angel at first, if I’m gonna be honest...wasn’t in the right mind at the time. Hallucinating mostly.” He explains to her and she smiles at him.

“They took you in?” Cinder asks him.

“Yeah...something like that.” Kassius agrees. “I stayed with Yang and Ruby for quite a while, Ruby took to liking me pretty fast because...well, she might be the most curious little thing I’ve ever met.” He explains, and Cinder remembers back to the ball. That curiosity is what nearly blew her plan.

“Yeah, she really is.” Cinder agrees, looking at her in the Bullhead parallel to them, seeing her team around her, making sure that she is okay.

“One tough egg that girl.” Kassius says.

“Yeah. Tougher than me to stay true to her beliefs.” She says, with shame in her voice, Kassius looks at her and he shakes his head.

“Don’t give me that crap.” Kassius orders. Cinder looks at him with a wide eye, confused of why he would have her side on that. She truly thinks this, and yet he is the one telling her to stop, the one she scarred the face of. “This was all Salem, she took advantage of your grieving and made you become Cinder Fall...but I know that Sapphire Locke is still in there somewhere. You wouldn’t have turned against Salem otherwise.” Kassius explains to her, and she looks away, touching her long black hair shyly. She then looks at him again.

“How are you able to say I am not in the wrong?” She asks him.

“How could I be against you?” He asks her in return.

“I ruined your face.” Cinder says with a giggle in her voice. He touches the scars from the explosion and he shrugs.

“Not gonna lie – I actually quite like them. It hurt like hell, no denying that.” Kassius states with a shrug and she laughs, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I missed you, bro.” Cinder says to him happily. He puts his cybernetic arm around her shoulders and he smiles as well.

“Missed you too, sis.” Kassius says to her.

 

**Jacques**

He sits in his office, his hands clasped together as he looks out across the perfect and peaceful city of Atlas. As always his study is extremely cold and he always looks like he is plotting something. He spots the Drift of Wandering Star returning, it must have been moving at some speeds to have arrived back to Atlas at the time that it did after Pyrrha managed to drive them away. He hears his door opening and he turns his chair. He faces the man that enters, and it is Darren Ortega, and with him are Neo and the Spectre. The Spectre has a brand new Cybernetic Arm where Summer had cut it off, a firearm has been built onto it and he flexes his fingers as he stands there. “What happened?” Jacques questions, staying in the same stance as he looks at the trio. Ortega closes the door behind him, and Neo hops onto the table and sits on it, crossing her legs. The Spectre leans against the wall and crosses his arms as he looks at their boss.

“Things didn’t go according to plan.” Ortega states, walking over to him and standing at the foot of his desk. Jacques raises a white eyebrow at the man he has made a contract with.

“Care to give any specifics?” Jacques requests.

Ortega sighs and he presses his hands against Jacques’ table, looking right at him. “The Huntsmen and Huntresses, your daughter and the girl’s sister? They proved to be more dangerous than we imagined, they managed to pull together a small army of soldiers. Branwen Bandits, White Fang Loyalists that follow the Taurus Boy blindly, and some soldiers from Atlas.” He explains, and he seems more concerned.

“Atlesians?” Jacques repeats with disbelief in his voice.

“You heard me.” Ortega confirms.

“How can you be sure?” Jacques inquires, sounding pretty concerned now as well.

“They had three Atlesian Vessels, one of them we managed to destroy, but it was definitely Atlesian. And they had vehicles supplied from us as well.” Ortega explains to him, his two Assassins remain quiet at the moment, obviously Neo cannot really be saying anything useful right now. He nods his head and then looks at the photograph in the corner of his wife, and he stands up. He still holds his glass of whiskey in his hand and he picks up the picture of Willow, looking down at it.

“What of Salem and the Relics?” He asks him, still looking at her face in the photograph.

“They failed, I don’t know if she managed to survive it or not...but they have the Relics.” Ortega states, and Jacques scowls with anger, realising that he is beginning to lose.

And he will sacrifice anything to keep himself from losing.

Jacques sighs when he looks at her picture. “So be it.” He says coldly, pressing down onto the glass with force, and the glass shatters and he drops the broken picture frame onto the floor. It makes a thud as it hits the floor and he steps away from where it fell. He returns to his seat and sits down. “Spectre.” He speaks, and the Assassin uncrosses his arms and looks at him, approaching.

“Yeah?” He responds to Jacques. The old man looks down at the ice cubes in his whiskey and then he looks out at the city of Mistral.

“It’s time to proceed to Step Two.” Jacques tells him, and he smirks sinisterly.

“Gladly.” He chuckles, looking at Neo and nodding to her. She nods and hops off Jacques’ desk and follows him out of the room. Ortega looks at Jacques with a suspicious look in his eyes.

“That will be all, Admiral.” Jacques informs him. Ortega says nothing, he just turns and walks away from Jacques Schnee and closes the door behind him. Jacques crosses his leg over the other, watching as the sun starts to set behind the horizon once more. He takes a swig from his glass and keeps on looking out there.

Whatever he is planning...

It will not bode well for them.

 

**Ruby**

The Bullheads fly across the beaches of the sea and then they approach the mountains; they went a different way than where they took the Tethys. Ruby has managed to sit up now, still resting her head on her big sister’s shoulder who is still holding her close. She may be unable to let her go. Blake hangs onto the Bullhead as she looks around, seeing them flying further and further. The Bullhead in the lead is the same one that carries Kragen, as he is the one that is guiding them of where to go next. A place that some of them may recognise quite quickly, but Ruby however does not.

Inside of the Mountains is the massive Silver Eyed Warrior Hold, huge Watchtowers made from stone that stand after all these years. There are Silver Eyed Warriors stood on guard with their weaponry at the ready in case of an attack. Kragen leans out the side of the Bullhead and his eyes glimmer brighter as he looks at them, creating a signal to his people. The Soldiers stand down and the cannons lower as well, and the Bullheads arrive, descending upon the large courtyard inside the walls. The Bullheads deploy their landing gear, and they take their place on the field, the thrusters slowly shut down, and they disembark once landed.

Ruby looks around as Yang guides her off the vehicle, and Qrow picks up the box that carries the three Relics that were nearly activated. The most dangerous might still be in the hands of Atlas, but they will have to worry about that another time. They must protect Knowledge, Creation and Choice, and no better place to be hidden than the Silver Eyed Warrior Sanctuary, hidden in the mountains where few would be able to find it. Only the ones that have come here today. Ruby gasps, seeing the huge doors opening and many Silver Eyed Warriors emerge from them, looking at her with amazement.

None of them are as young as her.

And upon seeing Ruby’s face, it has given them all something that they saw a lack of the last time they visited this Fortress.

Hope.

Ruby then feels the air against her skin, and tears begin to leak from her eyes. Tears of happiness, it has only just hit her now that she is no longer in the grasp of monsters that only seek to hurt her over and over again. She begins to cry and Yang holds her close, kissing her cheek gently as Ruby hugs her tight, finally able to let all that bottled up emotion out of her system. “It’s okay...you’re safe...I promise.” She assures. Yang caresses her hair gently, and Kragen stands there with Glynda and the Architect beside him, they care for her deeply. They have fought so hard to get her back, and now they are stuck with the prospect of what must come next.

Qrow sets the crate that contains the many Relics down on the ground and some Silver Eyed Warriors approach them with their weapons in their hands. Unlike the rest of them, they have simple weapons, just axes that have Isomacium Woven into the wood, similar to Kragen’s staff. One of them rests their battleaxe on her shoulder when she walks over to him. “Are you certain you can secure the Relics here?” Qrow asks them all, mainly Kragen.

“Do not worry, I know the perfect place in the Fortress to hold them, I will make sure that only I know where to find them.” He explains, and Qrow nods as he agrees. Winter walks over to them with her hands behind her back as she looks at Kragen.

“Good idea, less we all know the better. Means only you can be relied on giving the exact location.” Winter agrees.

“Exactly, and I will not reveal it.” He explains. He stands by the crate but he does not take them with him yet.

“So what do we do now?” Raven asks as she walks over to them with Taiyang by her side. Kragen crosses his arms and he looks at them all. They have amassed quite the army, but the vessels themselves have flown back to the mainland.

“Now? We still have some work to do, but I feel the young ones should have plenty of time to rest. We still must find the rest of the Seasonal Maidens before they die like Amber.” Kragen explains, Cinder stands there and she looks at where Hazel stands. He is leant against the landed Bullhead with his arms crossed, not speaking to any of them. Sun looks at him with anger in his eyes, and is trying his best to not unleash that anger on him. “And we must retrieve the Relic of Destruction.” He adds.

“Why did Salem do it?” Oscar asks him.

“Start using the Relics without Destruction?” Kragen asks him.

“Yeah?” Oscar answers with a shrug, since it doesn’t make sense.

“She became desperate.” Hazel tells them, as he was the only person here who was actually with Salem when she began to use them on the Volcanic Chain Isles. He looks at them and he uncrosses his arms, walking towards them all to speak finally. “She realised you were closing in on her, so she wanted to take over the souls on the island to stop the battle from even happening. But you managed to stop her.” Hazel explains, Sun clenches his hand into a fist just from seeing Hazel’s face, but Blake holds his arm to calm him down, and he looks at her smiling face. She kisses him on the lips, holding him close to her smaller body. She manages to extinguish that flame of rage that burned within him.

“So where do we start?” Taiyang asks. “I mean, from what I’ve been told, that won’t be the last we’ll be seeing of the Knights of Grimm, they have just retreated elsewhere, haven’t they?” Taiyang states, and the Architect nods.

“I will search for the Summer Maiden, not very long ago Salem ordered me to track her down with Tyrian. We found her but she managed to escape us, the idiot managed to ruin the ambush with his excitement. I can go back to where it happened and try and find her.” Hazel explains to them all as he crosses his arms when he stands there. Cinder looks at him with a raised eyebrow, surprised to see how quickly he has decided to assist them. But also she remembers that story.

Hazel and Tyrian set out from Salem’s Sanctum in search for the Summer Maiden. It was claimed that her name was Ayla Elatris, a small but powerful young woman. Only eighteen years old at the time with long golden hair. A kind and beautiful woman as well, one who could bring joy to the hearts of all that she met, life bloomed and love did as well during the summers that she brought with her. Tears ended, and she was always there for the people. Tyrian was more excited to hunt her down than Hazel was, and they were ordered to find her and bring her to Salem’s Sanctum to capture her in order to let a woman who serves them take her power.

Whoever that individual would be.

For at the time, Cinder was ordered to infiltrate Beacon in order to get to the Fall Maiden and kill her, alongside destroying Beacon once and for all as well. They tracked her down to a large abandoned structure that stood in the flowers of Mistral. She was helping some people there who were badly injured by a Grimm Attack, they entire village wiped out in the process. She tended to their wounds, calmed their tears and helped as many as she could.

They were going to wait until she walked outside, and they saw her approaching the lake for a swim. But when she got into the lake, Tyrian sprung out and attacked her. She was shocked but had enough time to form her clothes and attack him with fire. He was injured and Hazel had to fight her, but even he was not enough to challenge her.

Ayla escaped with her life in her hands, and she guided those to safety.

Cinder looks at Hazel where he stands and Qrow crosses his arms, narrowed eyes. “I don’t know if I can trust you, Hazel...you did try to kill my friends and family a couple times before.” Qrow states.

“And I don’t expect you to. I have done many things I am not proud of...I hate myself for a lot of the things I have done, and I will live with the nightmares for the rest of my life.” Hazel explains, looking at Sun when he says it, and Sun glares right back. But there is a form of sincerity in the voice of Hazel as he spoke to Sun right there. So Sun just looked away after he said that, and Blake holds onto his hand. “So if you won’t trust me, then don’t. But I am telling you what I shall set out to do; I will find her and bring her back here. Whether she is happy with it or not.” Hazel explains, Cinder walks over to him and he looks down at the shorter girl.

“I will go with you.” Cinder volunteers and he shakes his head.

“I don’t think so, you have a duty to –” Before Hazel can even try to reject her, she rolls her eye.

“I have a duty, and that is why I am going to help you. Like he said.” Cinder says, looking at Taiyang. “The Knights of Grimm are still out there, what happens if they challenge you? Do you think that you’ll survive on your own? You’ll stand a bigger chance finding her and fighting them if you’ve got me at your side.” She explains to him. Hazel looks at her and he sighs, looking at them again.

“Fine...” He groans, like he is taking a little sister with him on a trip. Cinder smirks and she stands beside him, just like a little sister as she bumps her shoulder into his and Hazel rolls his eyes.

“Alright then...Tai, Raven?” Qrow says as he looks at the two remaining members of Summer’s team back in there day. “Looks like Team S.T.R.Q are back together.” He says with a smile, but even then it is sad since Summer never got to see this reunion. Raven smiles and she nods as she holds her hand to her Odachi.

“Sure, why not?” Taiyang chuckles, nodding to him.

“We will search for the Spring Maiden, we’ve got some contacts out there, if they are still alive, we’ll find them.” Qrow tells them. Kragen nods, and he hopes deeply that they do find her. For she is still the woman he loves eternally.

“When you find Yenna...” Kragen says to her and the three of them look at him. “Bring her back to me.” He asks of them, and they smile and they nod.

“We intend to.” Qrow promises. Kragen nods and he takes a few steps back. Adam stands up, weak from the damage done to his arm but he still seems like he can fight even without that arm, using Wilt and Blush to stand.

“I will make sure that the White Fang returns to my side, we may have had a lot help find Ruby, but a lot still fight for the Albains and Mazen, I will try and quell their mutiny.” He explains to them and they also nod.

“I could help you, Adam.” Blake says to him, but he looks at her and smiles.

“No...you have a new duty – I never realised that when you cut that train cart all those years ago. Now I do. The Knights of Grimm are a threat to all life, not just Faunus or Human...I might not still overly trust Humans yet, but I know that peace is made from a method that you taught me, Blake.” Adam explains as he looks at her. “Teamwork.” He says with a smile and she smiles back, he may not see it but he probably knows.

“Good luck to you.” Sun says to him, whereas Yang does not say a thing. Adam turns to walk to the Bullhead that begins to take off, but Kassius turns to him.

“Hey, Adam!” He calls, and the Taurus man stops and turns to him. “Sorry about the horn.” Kassius says to him and Adam chuckles, touching the snapped off horn.

“Don’t be! I like to fight.” Adam assures, walking away from them and approaching the White Fang Bullhead that has the new symbol painted on it. The original White and Blue Wolf instead of what it became. Through the new Adam Taurus and the help of Sienna Khan, Ghira Belladonna’s legacy lives on. A tear leaks from Blake’s eye and she looks away from her old partner, they have officially moved on from one another and started a new story for themselves, she thinks that as she looks at Sun with a smile, and he smiles back.

Kassius walks over to the body bag that lays there alongside the many other ones that have been collected of those who lost their lives on the Siege of the Volcanic Chain Isles. He looks at the name on one of the Body Bags.

Ilia Amitola.

He closes his eyes regretfully for her passing. “She died a hero.” Hyde assures him, and Kassius smiles as he opens them.

“Yeah...she did.” He agrees, walking away from the body bag to return to the girl he loves.

“When Ruby Rose is feeling better again, and wishes to train...” Kragen says and she looks at him. “I will happily help you learn how to master the power that lives within you.” Kragen promises, pointing to his own silver eyes with a smile. She smiles back, she never truly expected the Myth to be a real thing, but there they stand. Many Silver Eyed Warriors stood tall, and they shall defend the very thing that should have never left their hands in the first place.

Cinder smiles and she looks at Ruby. Cinder turns to walk away, but Ruby has something on her mind that returns to her and she runs over to Cinder. “Cinder!” She calls, and she stops to turn and face Ruby who catches up to her.

“Yeah?” Cinder asks her with a raised brow.

Ruby nervously speaks to her, as it is something that she has not been able to inform her. “Did you know? About what happened?” Ruby asks her and Cinder looks concerned, walking closer.

“About what?” Cinder asks.

“Mercury?” Ruby asks her, and she sighs, closing her eye and she nods.

“Yeah...I figured as much. He and Emerald were never there on the Islands.” Cinder points out and Ruby nods.

“I saw...” She says and Cinder’s eye widens.

“What happened to him?” She asks and Ruby looks away for a moment.

“He sacrificed himself to try and save me when I first tried to escape with Oscar...but...Death killed him. Emerald ran, she might have survived but I didn’t see.” Ruby explains, but Cinder does not seem as optimistic as the young girl.

“At Salem’s Sanctum? No...not likely. Not with the amount of Grimm there.” She says with a sad voice.

“I’m sorry, Cinder.” Ruby tells her with a glassy eye, but Cinder shakes her head and wipes her own tear from her eye.

“Don’t be...they knew the risks when they signed up...I just should have been there instead of being out there on my own.” She snarls at herself with anger.

Ruby then wraps her arms around Cinder so suddenly that it actually makes Cinder jump as Ruby hugs her. Cinder never expected this from her, considering that Ruby once wanted to kill her, and now she is treating her like a friend somehow...Cinder has her arms out but not touching at first. But then she embraces Ruby gently as well, closing her eye. “Thank you...Sapphire.” Ruby whispers to her, taking a few steps back. Hazel walks past Cinder but he stops and looks at the two of them. Hazel looks at Oscar where he stands, and all Hazel does is nod. Oscar nods back and that was all that was needed between the two of them.

Cinder releases Ruby and pats her head. “Stay out of trouble, kiddo.” Cinder advises with a kind smile, turning away from Ruby and walking towards Hazel and their Shuttle. Cinder looks back at Kassius and he waves to her, and she waves back as the Bullhead’s door slides shut between them. The two Bullheads take off, carrying the party in search for the Summer Maiden and the leader of the White Fang. They fly away and leave them where they were.

Ruby stands there and she turns to see Oscar stood behind her with a smile. “Hey...” He nervously says to her and she smiles, walking over to him, touching her hair with her hand.

“Hey...” Ruby timidly says to him as well. She walks over to him, he stands a little bit taller than she does, but she is tiny anyway. The _unspoken_ thing between them is growing out of control at this point. Kassius looks at her with Oscar and he just bumps Yang’s shoulder with his elbow to get her attention.

“Huh?” Yang responds and all he does is nod towards those two. She looks at them and smiles, since she knows.

“So...how are you feeling?” Oscar nervously asks her, and she shyly scratches the back of her head.

“Really...tired.” She groans, rubbing her eye with her hand.

“Well, maybe you should get home or something.” Oscar says to her and she smiles, walking past him, but then she stops, and an urge rushes over her. She sighs and turns to him, grabbing him by his shoulders and she kisses him on the lips gently. He jolts from her sudden change of decision as she kisses him. The kiss is short but sweet, taking a step back with shy eyes.

“Thank you...Oscar.” She says with a smile, walking away from him. Oscar stands there and his heart pounds a million beats a second when he watches her walk away.

That was his first ever kiss.

And it was hers as well.

She walks towards her sister, but he senses a pair of eyes looking at her and she turns. Kassius stands there with a smirk on his face as he looks at her. “What are you looking at?” She sharply interrogates. Kassius holds his hands above his head and walks away from her.

“I didn’t say anything.” He says, walking away from her and she sighs. Yang says nothing, she just smiles kindly. Raven stands beside her and Ruby walks over to her big sister.

“Hey kiddo, how about I spare the two of you the trip. And portal you back to Patch right now? The rest of us have some work to do. Weiss and Blake said that they’ll follow in about ten or twenty minutes.” Raven calculates.

“You still know where our home is?” Ruby asks.

“Of course, Tai would never abandon that stupid log house we built.” Raven says, expecting him to not hear that.

“I heard that!” Taiyang shouts across the courtyard and she flinches, making the two girls giggle. “And that house is fantastic, and you know it!” He adds.

“It’s old and boring, like you!” Raven replies, just like a married couple would do. They both giggle again.

“Exactly! That’s why you love it!” Taiyang cheers.

“It’s boring, Tai.” Qrow agrees and Tai gasps with disbelief.

“You said you loved it!” Taiyang gasps.

“He loves the bar!” Raven states.

“That thing is an antique.” Qrow states.

“Didn’t you just vow to give up drinking?” Taiyang questions.

“No, just drinking all the time. I’ll never hate alcohol.” Qrow states and Taiyang can’t help but agree with his logic.

“I’ll be there soon too, kids!” Taiyang assures as he calls to them across the courtyard. Ruby looks at Qrow, she still cannot forget what she heard Death say about him and her mother. Raven stands in front of her.

“Yeah...you have a lot to catch up on.” Raven tells her and she sighs.

“I guess...” Ruby sighs.

Raven steps aside and forms a red portal with her Odachi, just by swinging it and the portal opens before them. “Go on – get some shut-eye, you need it.” Raven chuckles, gently tugging on her cheek. Ruby giggles and Yang holds her little sisters hand, the two of them wave to Weiss and Blake before they walk through the Portal.

The portal closes behind them.

Yang and Ruby emerge out of it and they see the log cabin house that they grew up in their entire lives. The trees that surround it, and the path that leads to Summer’s grave on the cliff edge. They both walk towards it and she rests her head against her big sister’s shoulder. “I’m...really home...” She gasps.

“Yeah...you’re safe now.” She promises.

Yang opens the door, and their eyes widen and they both gasp.

His yellow eye stares at her, the other blinded by an iron. His Scorpion Tail rising over his shoulder, gritted grin as he glares at them with an insane laugh in his voice.

“Tyrian?” Ruby whimpers with fear.

“We’re done yet, my precious little flower...” Tyrian snarls.


	53. Cabin Battle

**Ruby**

Yang’s eyes are wide, terrified when realising that Tyrian Callows has found out where Ruby and her have been living this whole time. The scars across his eye where Ruby burned him with the branding iron have not healed well, deep scar tissue formed everywhere over that yellow eye of his. His teeth are gritted tight as he glares at her with that mad smirk, and he walks towards the two young girls. “Wha-What are you doing here? How did you find our home?” Ruby stammers with fear, stepping back from the Scorpion Faunus, and Yang stands in front of her little sister out of instinct. Tyrian giggles when he walks closer and closer, the two young girls keep backing up.

They have nobody else to rely on for assistance, only themselves. Qrow managed to handle Tyrian in combat but even he still lost, he still beat Team R.N.J.R when they first met him by himself.

“Why, my little flower...” He begins, holding his hands out when stepping through their doorway towards her, and Yang keeps her eyes trained on the unpredictable lunatic. He keeps on walking closer to them. “Did you really believe I did not think of an escape plan if this all went wrong?” Tyrian asks her and Ruby thinks and answers truthfully.

“Yes, actually.” Ruby admits and Yang looks at her with concerned eyes of her truthfulness. Tyrian laughs, clapping his hands together when he stares at her.

“Very true, why it was dear Watts who hid the Bullhead in a nearby cavern. Since he was dead, I thought I should take it.” Tyrian explains, walking and waving his arms around theatrically as he explains how he managed to survive the eruption of the Volcanic Chain Isles. They only escaped with luck.

“What about Neo?” Ruby questions.

“The mute?” He laughs, even scoffing at the sound of her name being pronounced. “I care not...all I care about now...is ripping your heart from your ribs.” He states, pointing at the single eyed girl. Yang grits her teeth with anger when she stares at him, clenching both hands into fists.

“No – you will not lay a finger on my baby sister ever again.” Yang growls with anger, and he giggles when he looks at her.

“Oh don’t worry, Goldie-Locks! I’ll have some room for you as well.” He promises.

“Just try and take her.” Yang growls, her eye twitches when she stares at him.

He points at his chest and he smiles. “Okay then.” He agrees. He lunges straight for Yang and he grabs her by her Cybernetic arm and throws her straight through the window with all his might. The window shatters immediately, fragments of glass landing with her and some of them cut her skin. She pushes her hands against the wooden floor, groaning with pain as the blood leaks from her cuts, before her aura repairs the damage. Ruby stands there, now Yang is not between her and Tyrian, and she watches as her sister is thrown into the window.

“Yang!” Ruby screams.

Yang crashes onto the wooden floor and Ruby darts past Tyrian in her Petal Dash form to avoid Tyrian. Tyrian swings his Pincer Blades at her and narrowly misses her when she avoids him; she darts inside and helps her big sister up. Yang stands up and sees Tyrian turning round to face the two of them, walking towards them, but speeding up over time. “Are you okay?” Ruby asks her with a worried voice.

“Get out of here, Ruby.” Yang begs, seeing Tyrian gritting his teeth with anger as he sprints faster and faster, moving through the doorway and straight for them.

“I’m not leaving you!” Ruby whimpers. Yang pushes her out of the way when Tyrian leaps for her, screaming maniacally as he goes to slash her with his blades.

“Run!” Yang demands, punching Tyrian extremely hard in the chest, sending him flying towards the lit fireplace, fire erupts from the impact and the embers rise from it. He growls with anger and quickly gets out, his brown trench coat slightly ablaze and he throws it off his body. Yang thrusts her arms to ready Ember Celica...but there is nothing at all. Her eyes widen with fear, and she looks down.

She didn’t bring them with her...

She took them off on the Bullhead.

Yang did not think that they would need to handle anymore fighting. Tyrian sprints out from the flames and jumps at her, Yang rolls out of the way and Tyrian lands on the sofa and swings straight at her, laughing cravingly as he jumps from sofa to sofa to attack the blonde sister of Ruby’s. He pushes his legs with all his might to avoid Yang as she swings her fist at him, she does still have her cybernetically attached version of her Ember Celica, however. She fires it at him but it is not enough for her fighting style.

She needs to start fighting smart again.

Tyrian wraps his tail around the support beam and swings straight for Yang. He slams both feet into her chest and they both crash through the table, shattering the plates that were laid out on it. Fragments of plate fall everywhere and Tyrian tumbles into the oven and smashes the glass on it. He growls and aims the guns in his weaponry at her, and Yang raises her Cybernetic forearm up, the bullets deflect off the steel but it still hurts her. She gasps with pain as she feels pieces of metal being snapped off from the bullets. He rushes towards her and slashes over and over, trying to wear her down one strike at a time.

He wraps his tail around her throat and smashes her head into the table with all his might, she grunts with pain and he goes to do it again. Suddenly a pulse of red petals bursts behind Tyrian and he feels Crescent Rose get forced against his neck, and Ruby stands on his back, pulling him back from her sister and Tyrian staggers around to try and get her with anger. He howls with rage, reaching for the little girl, and Yang breathes heavily to regain her strength after being choked like that from his scorpion tail. He grabs her by her leg and swings round, throwing her into the television, shattering it and sending sparks flying. He walks towards her and Ruby aims her rifle at the man, firing over and over, but he uses his tail to deflect the bullets.

Yang gasps when she sees the flames from the fireplace starting to spread. The embers that were thrown from the impact of the man being thrown into it have settled on the wooden floor and caught fire in places. Ruby retreats back and she picks up the remote controller for the television and throws it straight at Tyrian with anger. Tyrian does not even flinch and he darts after her again. He slices down across her back and Ruby falls to the floor. Tyrian appears in front of her and he spins round, kicking her in the chest and throwing her backwards. Ruby smashes her back against the wall and gasps with pain, her hand pressed to the wound. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” He assures, as he walks towards her.

Tyrian grabs Ruby by her black and red hair, pulling her upwards and holds her in the air. He retracts his blades and he punches her in the gut. Ruby flinches with pain and he keeps on punching and punching. Yang stands up and she grits her teeth with rage, clenching her hands into fists. Red flushes into her lilac eyes and there is a powerful pulse of fiery energy that erupts from her body and she throws her arms back with pure rage. “Leave her alone!” Yang roars, sprinting straight at Tyrian.

Tyrian turns and Yang tackles him into the wooden stairs. The stairs shatter like glass and the two fall straight into the basement, crashing down inside and they roll inside. Yang keeps screaming with uncontrollable anger, spinning round and punching Tyrian in the face, hitting him over and over again. Tyrian rolls back and he sprints round her, running across the wall and he kicks her in the back and then slashes her again, cutting through the coat that she wears. She turns and punches him over and over in the chest to wear his aura down, her aggression is matching his and he is struggling to fight her. He hops aside and he grabs her by her long hair and swipes his leg across hers. He smashes her face first into the stone floor and she grunts with pain from the feeling of being pummelled like that.

He then turns and sees a shard of wood that sticks up from the floor. He drags her by her hair and she gets even angrier, then he goes to plunge her jugular onto the wooden spike. She pushes her hands against the floor to stop being killed this way. She grits her teeth and looks back at him, swinging her head back and into his face. Tyrian snarls, staggering back and Yang powers one powerful punch up with her cybernetic arm. Tyrian is thrown through the ceiling of the basement and erupts through the wooden floor of the kitchen. As he flies up, Ruby screeches as she slashes him with Crescent Rose and the impact shatters the table into little pieces. He tumbles and then lands on both feet as he grinds to a halt.

Yang jumps up from the basement and lands next to her sister, burning with rage for everything he has done to her sister. Tyrian looks up at them and he smirks, turning to the sofa and he grabs the sofa and holds it upright. He throws the sofa straight at them both with all his might, roaring as he does it. Yang grabs Ruby and they both jump out of the way as the sofa crashes down right where they were stood. They look at their home as their fight with Tyrian has completely shattered the place into little pieces. Ruby darts towards him when she gets back up and she immediately slashes straight at him.

Crescent Rose slashes towards him but Tyrian leaps over the curved Scythe Blade and he grabs her, wrapping his arm around her neck and he goes to punch her, until she vanishes in a cloud of red petals. She swiftly fires her rifle at him and Yang punches at him again, he catches her wrist and holds her there, punching her straight in the face. He wraps his tail around her leg and throws her into the wall, she crashes into the wall, then lands back to the floor.

Ruby yells, slamming Crescent Rose into the floor and she spins round, kicking him in the head. Her attacks are smart, but he is far too aggressive to be able to beat him. He staggers back and he smiles, grabbing the cables from the television and he sparks them as he holds them close, and as Ruby lunges at him again, he pushes the live cables into her and she screams with pain as the electricity courses through her body. He pulls them away and then smashes the back of his heel down onto her face so hard she crashes into the floor, cracking the wooden planks.

Yang screeches, leaping at the man again, tackling him onto the floor, punching him over and over again in the face. The fire is spreading throughout the building where Tyrian was thrown, smoke beginning to fill their house. She keeps on punching him, but then Tyrian bites onto her hand and she screams with pain, he pushes her off his chest and then kicks her in the chest with both feet. He leaps at Ruby again, desperate to kill her once and for all, he grabs her and he begins to enter an animalistic state of rage. Her aura has become much fainter already from this fight, already weak after the battle they just had on the Volcanic Chain Isles.

He punches Ruby in the face so hard it makes a cracking sound, and she pushes against his chest. Then against his face. Tyrian growls, sinking his teeth into one of her fingers, so hard that blood leaks out. Ruby screams with agony, pushing her thumb into Tyrian’s eye socket and he screeches with pain, she kicks him off and grabs her finger. He has bitten through the soft skin and tissue, grazing the bone. He staggers away, blood leaking from is scarred eye that she pushed her thumb into.

This truly is a fight to the death, fighting like animals.

Yang gets back up, staring at the evil man who glares at them.

He smirks, standing tall and glaring at her. “Anger makes you strong...” He chuckles. “You and I are alike!” He giggles and that sends her through the roof.

“Shut up!” Yang screams, sprinting directly at him. He then swings round and smashes her head with his tail and sends her flying through the wall. She falls out of the house and plummets into the trees outside. She crashes there and she turns, looking at where her bedroom is, that was the room that was just destroyed.

Ruby uses Crescent Rose as a shield, deflecting his attacks and he grabs her by the neck again, pinning her down against the floor as he tries to suffocate her. He pushes her into the floor, and she gasps for air as he aggressively hurts her this way. He smirks as he does it, pushing her into the floor. “You thought you could just go home? No...I’m gonna kill you, and then your sister!” Tyrian yells and Ruby scowls at him, wrapping her legs around his neck and she throws him off her body and kicks him in the head.

“No! You won’t kill anyone else!” She yells, firing a red dust covered bullet into his chest, the bullet explodes and he is thrown from the room and he falls out there with her. Ruby’s eyes widen when she smells something. During their battle, Tyrian was thrown into their oven, and the act of doing so has damaged a gas valve, gas is leaking constantly from the building and inside. She coughs, and then she gasps again.

The fire.

Suddenly the gas ignites, and the explosion fills the house and throws Ruby out as well, sending her tumbling across the floor. Yang screams with horror, thinking she just saw her baby sister die, fire burning on her old clothes that she has been wearing and she lays there, barely moving. Her red clothes have turned black from the fire and she is burnt in many places of her body, even on the side of her cheek as well. Yang helps her up and pats the fire out, and she looks at their burning house. The fire has claimed the entire log house; the place is crumbling and falling apart. Black smoke rises from the building and forms a tower of smoke that rises incredibly high. Yang shakes Ruby with horror, terrified she may not be awake, until Ruby starts to cough up the smoke that she inhaled in there.

Her skin has been burned in multiple places and her aura completely broken, and her arm has been broken as well. A piece of wood was thrown into her arm and fractured the bone. She turns and looks at Crescent Rose and she gasps with disbelief, it has been snapped in two. Sparks leaking from it and the dust canisters have spilt everywhere. She falls from Yang’s arms and she tries to pick it up, but a horrific painful sensation rushes across her arm and she yelps with pain, tears dripping from her eye. “No...No, no...Please...” She begs, holding half of her beloved weapon.

The explosion has destroyed Crescent Rose.

Yang turns and she gasps, seeing Tyrian standing back up and staring at Ruby, not even at Yang. He has been wounded as well, his damaged eye has been ruined to the point of no return after Ruby’s thumb squished his eye. Yang walks over to Ruby and picks her up, holding her in her arms, and Ruby cannot take her eye off Crescent Rose’s condition. “We can fix her...I promise.” Yang whispers, but she keeps looking at Tyrian as he stands up, the light from their burning house surrounds him as he stares.

“But we need to run!” Yang tells her, and she starts to run from Tyrian, and the Scorpion Faunus sprints after them to kill them both.

 

**Blake**

Blake walks around the Courtyard of the Silver Eyed Warrior Fortress with Weiss with her as well. They both approach Kassius, Jaune, Ren and Nora, they are sat with Jaune as he looks at his shield. Kassius smiles and he stands up, walking over to them, looking at Blake in particular since Ilia was her friend. And Tyrian took her from Blake, they may have become enemies at one point, but they were still best friends at another point. “Hey...How are you doing?” Kassius asks Blake, and she smiles.

“Alright, I guess...I mean it’s still pretty raw.” She says to him, and he nods. She may have done some pretty bad things, but she was still a friend of his as well. He treated her like a person, instead of a Faunus that everyone fears.

“Yeah...Same...She didn’t deserve to die like that, at the hands of an animal.” Kassius sighs as he stands there, looking at them. Weiss looks back at Raven as she speaks to Qrow and Taiyang, nobody here has any idea about Tyrian attacking their home and trying to kill Ruby. Weiss looks back at Kassius as he stands there.

“What will you be doing?” Blake asks him, since they have been talking about what they have been planning. Kassius looks at Jaune and how he sits there, wanting to find and help Pyrrha.

“I guess I owe a debt.” Kassius says to her and Jaune looks up at him.

“Huh?” Jaune questions.

“You guys helped me, if I can help somebody find someone they care for...I will.” Kassius says to him, and Jaune’s eyes are wide, he never expected him to join them to find her. “And hell. What are friends for if we don’t help each other?” Kassius asks him with a shrug. Jaune sighs and he stands up, setting his shield down.

“It won’t be easy, you know? I know her and she will take everything she has done to heart...she’ll be in hiding.” Jaune explains to him and Kassius nods.

“Then we’ll find her and bring her home.” Kassius promises, patting his shoulder. “Should be a hell of a ride...but of course, once we’re finished here, we’ll go and see Ruby and Yang, make sure she’s okay.” Kassius explains.

“Of course.” Jaune agrees with a nod.

“Of which reminds me...” Weiss says, turning to Raven and calling out to her. “Raven!” She calls, Raven turns and looks at the two girls as they walk over to her. Raven already knows what they are going to ask her.

“Let me guess...” Raven says as she walks over to them with a smile.

“We just wanna make sure that she is okay...she’s been through hell.” Weiss says honestly and with concern, surprising since originally she could not stand Ruby. Now she cannot let the little thing out of her sight.

Raven smiles and nods, opening a portal for them and stepping aside.

“Thank you.” Blake thanks with a smile, and Weiss says the same, smiling to her.

“Make sure that you let them know we’ll all be coming round.” Raven asks of them before they enter. The portal closes behind them.

Kassius stands there and he looks at Jaune.

“You don’t have to come with me.” Jaune sighs as he looks at him, humbly hoping he does not feel like he has to do this.

“I know.” Kassius says, turning to look at him. “When do we start?” He asks.

Blake and Weiss emerge from the portal, and their eyes widen, both gasp with horror when they see the Cabin engulfed with flames. Blake looks at Weiss and she looks at her. The pair sprint towards the burning house. “Ruby!” Weiss screams.

“Yang!” Blake calls out, looking around to find them. Weiss presses her hands to her head as she stands there.

“What the hell happened?” Weiss stammers with fear for their lives. Blake examines the area, using her enhanced senses to figure out where the two sisters could have gone. Blake looks at the flames and she can see inside, the building may be a raging inferno, but she can still make out the scene of a fight. The thrown sofa, the hole in the ground, the damage done to different places before the fire. She narrows her eyes and stands tall, furrowing her brow to figure out what is happening. Sweat trickles down her head as she looks around.

Blake walks ahead, round the house after noticing a hole in the wall on the other side. Weiss follows her. “What is it?” Weiss asks her, unable to pick up the signs that Blake can see. Blake jogs round and she looks around. They are not here, but her eyes widen with relief when she sees a pair of footprints in the soil. However she quickly realises that one of the trails is too big to be Ruby’s and not the right boot shape to be Yang’s.

She then spots Yang’s, and blood staining the floor. She crouches down and gasps, seeing Crescent Rose snapped in half on the ground, the Scythe’s blade fragmented into little pieces, and the glass on the floor. “They got out before the fire started...” Blake tells her and Weiss gasps with relief. But she notices the fear in Blake’s eyes.

“What else?” Weiss asks, Blake steps aside and Weiss gasps when she sees the state that Crescent Rose is in. Weiss crouches down beside the weapon and picks up half of it, looking at the damage with fear. Then she sees something that Blake never noticed at the time. A chunk of armoured scale wedged into the blade where it has been blunted down from the constant combat. She pulls it from where the blade cracked, and she looks at the brown scale, the purple blood underneath. She pulls her finger away when the blood burns her finger tip. Ruby got a hit on Tyrian, and it is that scale that makes her realise. “Blake...” Weiss says, and Blake tilts her head.

“What?” Blake asks, Weiss turns and holds the scale up to her. Blake’s eyes widen and her ears flex up with concern.

“We both know who that belongs to.” Weiss tells her, and Blake holds the scale, and she hears the faint cackle of Tyrian in the distance. Her eyes widen with horror when she hears it in the forest.

“Tyrian...” They both gasp.

 

**Yang**

His laughs echo behind them as he pursues, running past the trees, Yang holds her baby sister in her arms and she looks over her shoulder at him as he chases. He jumps and bounces from tree to tree to keep up with them. “You can’t run forever my little flower!” Tyrian howls, and Yang stammers, looking at Ruby as she runs with her. Ruby looks at Yang with a scared eye, and then Yang stops and throws Ruby ahead. Ruby looks at her with a wide eye, her lip trembles when she stands there.

“Yang!” Ruby cries out.

“Run, Ruby!” Yang screams, Tyrian roars and he leaps straight at Yang and tackles her into the ground. Against her wishes, Ruby does what she says and she keeps on running. Limping more like, Tyrian sees her and he tries to run after her but Yang grabs his tail and throws him into a tree with all her strength. Tyrian crashes into the tree and hits the ground hard, pushing his hands against the floor to stand back up, looking up at her with enraged eyes. Tyrian stands tall, and Yang stands ready, staring at him as he stands there.

“Get out of my way.” Tyrian demands. “Last chance.”

Yang raises her fists and glares at him. “No...” Yang snarls. “You hurt little sister, killed a friend of ours...only one of us is leaving here alive.” Yang assures him, and Tyrian smirks, then starts to guffaw.

“Then – I hope you’re ready to die, because her death will be slow and painful.” Tyrian promises. Yang grits her teeth when he says that, and then she shrieks, running straight at Tyrian and swinging her fist at him. Tyrian ducks down and he slashes his Pincer Blade across her cheek, he has weakened her aura down as well, they are both at a loss of aura to protect them. The blows that will hit them now can kill them if serious enough. Blood leaks from her cut and she steps back, touching the cut with her hand, seeing the claret that covers her palm. Yang stands there and Tyrian rushes towards her to stab her in the gut, but she catches his arm and stops the blade from getting any closer, she pushes him back and moves her head aside when he goes to slash her with the other. She wraps her arm around his neck and squeezes with all her might round his neck. She pulls back and he strains for air, grabbing her cybernetic arm and he holds onto her.

She stares at him with red eyes as she holds him there, but he glares at her and then slashes across her stomach with his blade and she cries out with pain from the feeling of her stomach being cut. Not deep enough to spill her guts, but enough to spill some blood. Tyrian swipes his leg across hers to knock her on the floor and he thrusts his blade towards her to kill her once and for all. She raises her hand and the blades sink through her fleshy hand, blood sprays out and she screams with agony. The blood drips onto her neck as she holds him there, and then she tightens her hand around his fist and with all her might, she punches his wrist with her cybernetic fist.

A horrific pop and crunch erupts from his arm and Tyrian screams with agony as the blades snap from the impact, and Yang punches him in the head. The punch has snapped his wrist and he steps back from her, looking at his arm that is just flopping around now, like there is no bone there in the first place. “God-damn it...” He slowly winces, seeing his hand hardly moving. He then looks at his other blade and slashes at her, she ducks down and punches his hand with her fist, crunching the fingers and he screeches with pain, looking as the bone sticks out from his fingers, blood pouring out. Yang grabs him and they begin to wrestle each other, fighting each other with their strength. Yang is strong, but at the end of the day she is younger than he is and he is much bigger and stronger, and he smashes her head down into the soil with force.

She looks up at sees him pushing towards her face with his other wrist blade to carve her large lilac eyes from her head, teeth gritted and growling as he does it. He sounds like a berserk animal, one that has gone feral. They are both making terrible guttural sounds as they fight, nowhere near as majestic and fantastic as their battle with the Knights. This is personal, brutal and out to kill each other. Tyrian howls as he tries to stab her in the face with his blades, but she holds his arm back with her hand and she pushes him over and they start to roll around the area of soil. Dirt sticks to their wounds and their clothes as they fight. Blood runs down the side of both of their heads after their attacks have broken the skin.

The blades get closer and closer to her face and the blades then scrape across and through her left eyebrow, just missing her eye and blood oozes from the wound as the blade scrapes across her skull. She shrieks with agony and then pushes him over and gets a hold of his own arm after scraping the blades across the dirt and rocks they fight on, she bends it back and pushes it towards him now. He pushes against her with his broken hand, and he stridently wails with agony as he feels the broken bones push against his nerves.

Yang pushes and pushes, and then she yells as she manages to push the blades into his own stomach. The blades sink deep and his eyes widen with pain, he wheezes with agony as blood pours from the open wound and he pushes against her face as she holds him down like that. Blood starts to leak out of his mouth and he spits into her eyes. Yang grunts after being impaired and she gets kicked in the face by Tyrian and she rolls off him. She wipes some of the blood off, until she screams in agony when she feels his blades stabbing into her thigh. Yang screams with agony as blood squirts from the impact of those blades cutting through muscle tissue with ease.

She turns round and punches into his ribs with her cybernetic fist with all her might, making an almighty thunderous bang, one that breaks his ribs and he roars with pain. He coughs up blood from his mouth and he rolls over, trying to get back up, and Yang limps as she tries to get back up. She punches him in the face but he catches her arm after the punch and he starts to go full animalistic on her. He bites onto her ear and she shrieks out with agony as he rips off her earlobe and spits it out. She claws him across the face with her nails and she rips some skin from his face, blood leaking out.

He then grabs her by her hair and smashes her head into a tree with all his might. She rolls onto the floor and her nose has been broken, snapped at the bridge and bleeds onto the floor. Dazed, she is at his mercy, but then he turns and he sees Ruby in the distance, limping through the trees.

He sees her and he instantly forgets about Yang, and he chases after Ruby. “Ruby!” Yang cries out as Tyrian sprints after her at full speed.

Yang crawls after Tyrian but he keeps on moving after her. “Yang!” Blake calls and Yang gasps, turning and through the blood that leaks down her face she sees Blake and Weiss running to her.

“Where is she?” Weiss asks with fear in her voice. Yang weakly points at where she is with her bloodied hand where Tyrian stabbed her. They both look ahead and sees Tyrian chasing after her.

“Go...Help her...” Yang begs them weakly, and against their best wishes to help Yang as well. They know that she is right, Ruby is the one in danger and they have to help her.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby limps and limps, hearing him calling out for her as he chases her. “You’re gonna die!” Tyrian howls as he sprints after her. She whimpers with fear, she might want to kill him, but she has nothing to fight him with. Crescent Rose is broken, and she is too wounded to fight, her arm is broken and the other shoulder is dislocated and she has more burns on her body than she can count.

The trees part before her, and she reaches a cliff face. The trees end here and before her is Summer Rose’s grave, the birds flying away as the wounded girl finds herself here. She stops and gasps when she sees the edge and she has nowhere left to run.

Her eye widens and she looks behind her shoulder, and there he stands.

Tyrian stares straight into her eyes with no smile anymore, just gritted teeth. The blood covers him and she thinks the worst since he got away from Yang. And he is not in the best shape either, none of them are actually. His hair has been torn in places where Yang fought him brutally, his hand turned ragdoll with the bones broken inside and he is hunched over with his ribs broken as well. He spits out a lot of blood and he stares at her, teeth broken as well. “Nowhere...left to run.” Tyrian growls with anger. Ruby stands there, weak and scared, but instead of show that fear, she just grits her teeth and scowls at the monster that stands there in front of her.

Tyrian walks towards her and he yells as he swings at her. Ruby ducks down and punches with her fist, but the act of doing so spreads pain through her body due to her dislocated shoulder. She yelps with pain, and Tyrian staggers back from the punch. He stares at her and he wraps his tail around her neck and lifts her off the floor, staring at her with insane eyes as he adds more pressure to the girl’s throat to asphyxiate her. She gasps for air and he spins round and throws her into the floor, nearly breaking her back from the impact.

She looks at him with fear as he walks towards her.

He raises his tail above his shoulder and snarls with anger, his eyes change from yellow to purple and he growls. He lunges for her, until suddenly Weiss charges in from behind Ruby and she tackles Tyrian into a rock and manages to stab him in the leg with Myrtenaster. He grunts with pain and grabs her by the throat and smashes her into the rock and goes to attack her.

Blake leaps in from behind the rock and kicks Tyrian in the side of the head, making him stagger away from Weiss and she lands in between Tyrian and Weiss with Gambol Shroud pointed at him. He stares at her with gritted teeth and he turns fast and yells as he smashes his tail against the side of Blake’s head, sending her flying back and hitting the floor. Rage seems to overcome him and he starts to attack, but Ruby feels something come over her.

She looks and sees Yang crawling with wounds covering her body. Her eye widens and anger forms and she yells with rage. As if the pain had vanished, she runs at Tyrian and shoulder charges him with all her might.

Tyrian’s eyes widen and the impact combined with her Petal Dash sends him tumbling back. Ruby rolls across the floor and she slides to the edge.

Tyrian has fallen.

They think he has fallen to his death, and Yang stands up with her hand pressed to a tree, Blake runs over to her in order to keep her standing. Ruby stands up and turns to walk away, until she hears his grunts and yells of distress from the cliff’s edge. She stops and turns, walking towards the edge.

He is hanging onto a vine that hangs over the edge of the cliff and his wounds that he suffered from Yang are taking their toll. He cannot even climb up the vine, blood leaves his body constantly and he screeches with pain.

Ruby stands at the edge and looks down at him as he grabs onto the cliff edge and he looks up at her with fearful eyes, seeing she now has the advantage over his life. She stares at him with a cold eye, the rest of Team R.W.B.Y watch intensely as she stares at him. He smirks at her as he holds onto there, blood drips from his head. “Ruby...You wouldn’t – kill an unarmed Huntsman...would you?” He asks her, hoping to use the good in her to spare his life, he laughs as he does it as well.

Ruby looks at him and she closes her eye and sighs. “No...I don’t.” She says, and their eyes widen with disbelief, she grabs the man’s hand and begins to pull him back up, slowly. He smiles maniacally as she does it, the three watch with confusion. She pulls him up and up and he releases the vine as he gets closer.

She then stops and he looks at her.

“But I also keep my vows.” Ruby tells him, and he looks straight at her.

Her eye meets his and she now looks terrifying in his eyes. “And I already made you a promise.” Ruby states, and his eye widens with fear.

Ruby releases his wrist.

“No!” Tyrian howls as he feels the weight beneath him become invisible and he plummets away from Ruby. She gets smaller and smaller, and his body gets caught in the vine. The vine snaps and comes with him. He yells again as he falls towards the trees beneath him. She loses sight of him as he falls into the trees. One last scream echoes through her mind as she watches him die.

Then a loud bang that echoes across the forest.

The crows fly away from the trees after the crash echoes.

And then...

Silence...

She stands there, and as the dust clears, she spots his corpse on the ground. He landed on a sharp rock, one that has protruded out from his ribs, blood everywhere,  his eyes still open lifelessly and his mouth open as he fell.

Ruby closes her eye and she sighs with relief. Her suffering has ended, and she also kept her promise she made to him.

_When I get out of here, I will watch as you fall to your death._

She may not have cut off his hand as she initially promised him that she would, but she killed him the same sort of way.

And yet, there is a sense of sadness in her face as well.

Despite everything he did, she never wanted to murder another person. Meaning that even after everything that he did to her, he still never broke her, she will always feel regret. That will never change.

Ruby turns and walks away from the cliff edge, leaving the body of Tyrian at the bottom. She looks at her mother’s grave, still untouched. She smiles, and then walks over to her friends who hold her close.

At the bottom of the cliff, Death forms by the corpse of Tyrian.

He looks at his body and he just holds his hand out to the corpse. The remaining parts of his soul leave his cold body, and enters his form. Death turns and walks away, now that he has collected his spirit.

Death vanishes into a crow that leaves him behind.

It’s over...

Tyrian Callows...

...is dead.


	54. Epilogue

**Ruby**

The house has completely burned down; nothing more than charred wood and smoke from the fire rises into the sky. Blake and Weiss sit with Yang and Ruby who are both recovering from their fight with Tyrian. A portal opens at the house, and Raven emerges with wide eyes. She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. Taiyang and Qrow walk through as well with shocked eyes when they see the destruction to the house. But their first thoughts are to their kids, searching for them. Raven runs round the destroyed home and she sighs with relief when she sees Ruby and Yang. But she is still horrified when she sees the state that they are both in. Cut up, burned, bruised and badly beaten.

But alive.

Taiyang sees them and he runs to the two girls, hugging them both, Blake and Weiss stand up and they look at Qrow as he walks over with angered eyes. “What happened here?” Qrow questions.

Blake and Weiss just look in the direction of where he fell.

Where he met his end.

“Tyrian found out where they lived...he waited for them. The fight was brutal...but Ruby killed him...he can’t hurt her anymore.” Weiss explains to Qrow, and he looks at his little girl. He walks over to her and he crouches down beside her. She looks at him and she just smiles, he gives her a big hug, one only a father could have. And somehow, that is the answer she had, closing her eye gently.

She will have the answers that she needs, but that will come in time. Qrow looks at the burns on her body and he feels for her, seeing the damage the flames did to her. The battle has taken more form them than they can even realise.

Yang looks and she sees the photograph of when they were younger. Team R.W.B.Y united, and written in red pen ink is _new friends!_ Yang picks it up with her cybernetic hand, the glass falls from the charred picture and a tear drips from her eye. “All of our memories...” Yang sniffles as she looks at the fire that burns their house down to the ground.

“Hey...” Taiyang whispers as he turns her head with his thumb. She looks at him and sniffles. “We can make all new memories now...” He says to her.

Across the world, things are beginning to change. Glynda, Port and Oobleck return to Beacon and they look around, the Grimm have completely vanished. None of them remain at the school anymore, not even a single Beowulf. It has become completely silent when they returned. “Just because some memories fade...” Taiyang explains to his precious daughter. Glynda looks at the house that she tried to repair but failed on multiple attempts. She raises her crop up and begins to lift the rubble upwards. The rubble floats together and then connects back together and she has little strain in doing so.

Her eyes widen with confusion. “Where’d the Grimm go?” Glynda questions with confused eyes.

“It does not mean that they can be replaced with better ones.” Taiyang explains to her.

And it is not just at Beacon that the Grimm have disappeared from.

Even at Mistral, where they took it only mere months ago. Mountain Glenn, Kuroyuri.

Everywhere...

The Grimm have vanished from all of the cities that they have claimed. Glynda looks at Port and Oobleck with a smile. “We can rebuild everything we lost...” She realises, looking at the school that was taken from them. She smiles with amazement.

“Because that is what it truly means to be alive.” Taiyang explains to her. “Even when you are bound by chains...” He keeps on speaking.

 

At Atlas...

Ironwood looks up from his dark cell, to see light pouring inside and onto his skin. It nearly blinds him as the sunlight welcomes him. A pair of soldiers stand there, and Willow stands before him, her hand extended to pull him back up. He looks at her, a scruffy beard grown on his face, but he takes her hand and she pulls him back up. “That does not mean that your time is over...you just have to be patient for the good to return.” Taiyang explains to her, and Yang thinks on everything that he says.

Thaddeus Brimstone walks with many soldiers, with Willow and Ironwood walking by his shoulders as well. The three of them approach the Study of Jacques Schnee to bring him to justice for his crimes that have come to light. Klein smiles and he steps aside to let them enter the room. Willow smiles and she nods to the man, and he nods back respectfully.

Ironwood grits his teeth as he gets closer. “Because the bad people are like rats.” Taiyang states, Ironwood kicks the door down and he draws his Revolver and aims it at his chair. Their eyes widen with disbelief.

Jacques Schnee and Whitley are gone from Atlas, vanished elsewhere, somewhere they cannot find them. “They will have their time...but when something stronger and better comes along, they will run into the shadows again.” Taiyang explains. “That is why we are better than they will ever be.” Taiyang says to her, Ironwood growls with anger and flips one of the chairs over with his metal arm with frustration from Jacques’ escape.

 

Back at their home, Yang looks at Taiyang and she wipes a tear from her eye and smiles as she looks at him. “Thank you...” She says sweetly, embracing the hug that she is given by her father. Ruby looks at Qrow, her true father...they have much to speak about, and they both know it.

“What now?” Ruby asks.

Qrow smiles.

“We rebuild everything we lost...and keep a watchful eye open for where the Knights of Grimm have gone.” Qrow explains.

“They are not gone...I know they’re not.”

“Just plotting their next move.”

 

**Somewhere in Vacuo**

The dunes of Vacuo’s desert burn hot as the infernal sun bakes the sand that spreads for miles. The sandstorms continue across the desert, and a lone individual walks across the deserts. The individual has a poncho wrapped around their body and the hood pulled over their head.

The person keeps on walking as the heat batters against their body.

She stops when she walks over to the ridge of a tall Sand Dune, and she looks out across the endless wasteland, until a multitude of spiky mountains stand on the ridgeline of the horizon.

Alongside...

Charred Trees...

She grabs her hood and pulls it back to reveal her face. Her hair has been left undone, and she looks far less proud than she once was. Pale white skin, black scleras and red irises that glow fiercely. Salem...she has lost everything she fought for...

And for whatever reason...

She has found the Charred Forest.

She stares at it and she looks at her hand, the red energy still pulses through her veins. Then a voice appears behind her. “So you failed...again.” The man says and her eyes widen when she hears his voice. She turns and actually looks afraid of who he is.

“I’m sorry...” She whimpers, actually scared. “I didn’t think there would be so many.” She says.

She looks straight at the man that approaches her.

A smaller looking man who wears the clothes of a merchant, a completely shaven head and very short stubble. He smiles and has his hands clasped together when he approaches her, he sighs and shakes his head as he walks closer and closer to her.

Vir Nominis Umbra.

“You were ordered to bring the Relics – to _me_.” He snarls, clenching his hand into a fist and Salem screams with agony, falling to one knee as she presses her hands to her head. She feels the stone in her head burn hot and hard as she cries out with suffering. Vir Nominis Umbra opens his hand and thus the torment ends in a moment. She gasps and looks up at the being with fear in her eyes of what he is.

“I’m sorry...” Salem apologises.

Vir Nominis Umbra looks up at the sky and he inhales the air with that villainous smirk of his. “Well...I did foresee this to happen...” He says to her and he walks around her with his hands still held together.

Salem’s eyes follow him as he walks around her and then he whistles his terrifying tune to himself as he stands there. He looks out at the Charred Forest that stands there and he chuckles. “The Shivering Dominion is coming, Salem...are you ready to fight for it?” Vir Nominis Umbra asks her, and she nods her head.

“Yes...I promise.” She says, sounding like Tyrian from how much she is grovelling to him.

He smirks and he lets her stand up as he gestures to her to rise.

“As you know...I have many contacts and individuals I can call upon in our time of need. When the time arises, they will ride from my land and lay siege to our foes.” He explains as he drops a horse chess piece into the sand that turns to smoke, carried off in the hot wind. Salem stands tall and she looks at the Soothsayer as he stands there with a smile on his face.

“What kind of contacts?” Salem asks him, he turns and he smirks.

“Ever heard of the Knights’ Bannermen?” He asks her, and she looks bewildered by that name.

He snaps his fingers together and multiple black portals open up behind him on the deserts, and her eyes widen with disbelief from what marches out from the portals. Skeletal Horses covered with metal plates, smoke trails from their bodies, and there are Knights that ride them and walk beside the Horsemen. All with glowing Red Eyes behind their spiky black armour that they wear. They all have skeletal bodies inside, the souls of the fallen that serve him to fight. She gasps, taking a step back as they emerge.

Vir Nominis Umbra holds out his arms as they emerge from the darkness. “This...is only a taste of the wares I can offer you to complete your contract.” Vir Nominis Umbra states with that smirk and she looks at him with fearful eyes.

“What will you have me do?” Salem asks him with a tremble in her voice.

“For now...stay in this desert in hiding. We want them to fall into a false sense of security, you see...whereas our Human Collaborators will have their fun in creating some chaos for them, whilst we complete our mission.” He explains.

Salem turns with widened eyes, hearing the call of the Giant Nevermore that flies towards where she stands. Black smoke erupts from its body and it transforms into its Knight form, the Knight of Death lands before her. Then the huge Bat glides through the skies and the skin wraps round the body of Fear as he stands there. The Mourning Dove flies towards her as well, and in a puff of smoke she appears as Loss, holding her Bow in her hand. Finally the roar of the Burning Wyvern echoes and she sees Fury transforming towards her, sliding across the sand.

He has calmed down after the loss of his trove and he stands tall.

The Lord of the Wood appears as well as a flock of Crows form and they transform into the Leshen as it stands there, looking at her with those burning hot eyes of its. The Crows caw as they look at her and she then looks at Vir Nominis Umbra as his allies all form before him.

He smiles as he looks at her.

“I am a humble merchant, and I have many more interesting wares on offer.” Vir Nominis Umbra says to her.

Salem nods, and Vir Nominis Umbra smirks menacingly.

The Shivering Dominion is not far away...

 

** To Be Continued... **

** In Act 3 – Shattered Memory **


End file.
